Alienized
by Kattebutt
Summary: .:Post movie:. What happens when Winry refuses to live on without the Elrics and jumps through the closing gate at the last minute? But as the world is not perfect so is the reward for Winry's sacrifice when she reveals a terrible truth about Ed's health.
1. Point of No Return

**Author's Note:** So here is my very first Fullmetal Alchemist story here on . I hope you enjoy.

In this story we'll play that Winry didnt go back to Risembool as shown in the movie credits, but instead followed Ed and Al back into the gate. We will follow Winry as she starts a life on the other side of the gate, searching for the Elric brothers, who seem to be much harder to find than she imagined. But dont worry, the whole story wont be about that. We'll see more to Ed and Al and their new life in Germany in about chapter 7-9 and then they will permanently be in the story as well.

Remember, this is a post movie fic and therefore happens after the plot in the **FMA anime movie 'Comqueror of Shamballa'**. If you havent watched it, you should do it now and listen to what they say, because there is a lot of things that are crucial to know about the movie before you read this. So please, for your own sake and for more enjoyment, _**watch the movie before reading**._

If you have any questions regarding the story, please ask me, I'm not reluctant to answer you. And please review and tell me what you think

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, nor do i own any of the characters of FMA. They all belong to Hiromu Arakawa-sama.

**_Enjoy _**

* * *

_Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic_

_.:Alienized:.  
_

_Chapter 1 - Point of No Return_

--

"I guess, this is goodbye for good."

She had said it, convinced that she would accept the fact that she would never see those boys, no, young men again. She was sad, yet she understood the meaning behind the madness.

The portal had been opened and a war had started. So to prevent the war from continuing, both the enemy troops _and _the gate had to disappear. But it had to take one of their own back to the other side to close it on that side.

Equivalent exchange, huh?

Winry was starting to get tired of that preposterous law. It had taken so much from the two people she cared the most for, yet never really gave anything back. That law owed them so much and when they finally got their wish fulfilled, it wouldn't do without one last sacrifice. One that would affect the rest of Amestris.

So now, her legs began to move on their own accord. She couldn't accept it. She couldn't live on like that. She felt her friend try to stop her, but one single look into the brown haired girl's emerald eyes got the message out.

She had to do this.

That wretched ruthless law had already once taken one of her beloved to the other side. She never got to say goodbye in the first place. And now it took another one with her.

_Edward_

_Alphonse_

Al had been her very last hope at ever seeing Ed again. She never really believed that he would bring him back. It was just too futile. The gate was closed and Ed had sacrificed himself to get Al back in his human body. And he had succeeded at the price of himself. That was the equivalent exchange. No one ever opposed that. Right? But still, Winry wanted to believe in it. It felt so good to know that one day she'd see Ed again. And she would be able to tease him about his height, even though he was almost few inches taller than her by now, she'd scold him for ruining her automail, she'd serve her dreaded spaghetti if they wouldn't behave, she'd get mad at him, laugh with him and cry with him. Like in the old days.

But none of that was going to happen. True she saw him shortly after the came back to Amestris, but he was hurt, tired and not in the mood for small talk. It was war after all.

So she ran. Ran and ran until she saw a uniform clad figure descend from a long pillar with a melancholy look in his eyes. She recognized him as Roy Mustang, the former colonel, now stripped of his rank to just an enlisted man, still with that clever look and demanding attitude.

Winry would have been happy to see him if it wasn't for her world breaking apart little by little.

She saw him draw a transmutation circle with a small piece of chalk. His movements weren't all that slow, but it was obvious that his actions were dulled by grief. Those two meant a lot for him too. She knew that. But he had a duty and that was what a military man's philosophy was.

He bowed down slowly, almost reluctant, and placed his hands on the rim of the circle and concentrated, sending an orange light through the white lines. She saw the enormous gate in front of him slowly begin to turn more transparent.

He was closing the gate.

There was no time. It was now or never. Amestris or the other side. Alchemy or machinery. Known or unknown. Everything or-

_Ed_

And then she ran towards the military man, towards the closing gate. She couldn't live without them, without him. She had tried and tried for two long years, but things just never seemed to make sense without him there. Everyone just waited for Al to return with his brother, but he always came alone after another fruitless attempt. She grew to be more melancholy and silent and learned to avoid talking about him to protect herself from the pain she knew would come with the mere mentioning of his name. She couldn't live with that any longer. And not with one more person added to that same list. She just couldn't.

"Wait, stop! What are you doing!?" came a voice from behind her and again a hand grabbed her wrist to prevent her from doing something she would regret. But she wouldn't regret it. She knew it.

She turned to look straight into Mustangs eyes and something seemed to dawn on him and he smiled the faintest, knowing smile. A smile she recognized as a smile that used to piss off Ed when he wore it. His grip loosened, but now Winry didn't run at once. Something held her back. That look in his eyes. What did he know? What did he want to say?

She might have been looking a bit too long at him, for he slightly raised an eyebrow and his smile grew.

"What are you waiting for, Miss Rockbell? Didn't you want to be with Fullmetal?" he said and released her just as she jumped into the gate with both embarrassment and surprise showing clearly on her face, though she did get to send him an appreciating smile before she was all gone.

Soon she was almost entirely consumed by a strange yellow light. It was like she was following a stream of flowing yellow and white light. She could see something at the end. Like she was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. But she knew she had to follow it. There had to be something where the light was heading.

She yelped when long pitch black arms snaked their way towards her and grabbed her like small greedy hands. It felt horrible. Not painful, but she had never felt such a hideous touch before. It felt like they wanted to pull her back to her own side of the gate again or as if they wanted to eat her or worse. Like a mix of all those feelings mashed into about thirty small, cold and greedy hands, transcending through their touch out on Winry's shivering body.

Was this really the gate of alchemy? And if so, then was this what took Ed's arm leg the first time he saw it? Was it going to take something from Winry too? And why couldn't these horrible hands just let her go to the other side in peace?

Horror filled her insides as she feared that she might have to go through the same pain that Ed went through a long time ago.

"Please, I just want to see Ed and Al. Please, take me to Edward Elric." She pleaded and somehow the arms seemed to loosen their ruthless grips on her and she felt herself near the other side.

In the yellow and white flow she began to see something dark form in front of her. It was rectangular and big. It had a hole like a frame or a door.

"_The gate!"_ She thought and beamed in satisfaction. She succeeded.

The hands released their grip and pulled back into the light. Winry neared the gate and as it came closer and closer she began to see some of the other side. It was blurred and she could almost only see a lot of rubble, but it still gave her some sort of reassurance that she was in fact at the other side.

She felt herself pass through the gate and a strange feeling overcame her, a different air filled her lungs. She was about to take time to breathe and take it all in, but then realized that she was hanging upside down in the air and the rubble underneath her.

So she fell. Her hair whipping in front of her face and the hair clip slipping out of her hair. The wind howled in her ears and she looked up to see the gate's light fade exponentially, meaning that the gate was closed on the other side. There was no turning back. If it meant back to Amestris or to just stop falling didn't really matter all that much at this moment.

Her head turned up, to look down at the rubble nearing her and only got to squeeze a small scream out before she hit the ground.

And then, everything was black.

* * *

_A/N: So that's first chapter for you. I hope you enjoyed. Next chapter will be posted soon after its done being beta read and will be called **The Replica Mother**. _

_Thank you for reading._

_Until next time _

_Shirou Hana_

* * *


	2. The Replica Mother

**Author's Note:** Hello again people! Long time no see, eh? I bet about half of you want to kill me now for being so late, **but**, I have an excuse! shotded anyway Since I have been on holiday for three weeks, I have had to email my chapters to another beta'er (aka, my mom xD ) who read it and looked it through for errors and stuff like that **on paper**. AND, since I was not with her in my holiday I couldnt get to post the edited chapters until I got home again. Oh yeah and the weeks before that was just because I was lazy -.- For that you may kill me shot again

Right, so now that I'm done with my pathetic excuses I will proceed to the story. So this is the second chapter of my Fullmetal Alchemist story and I can tell you now it's gonna be quite long, I've practically written nine chapters and that's just the beginning! Somehow I dont feel like I should be bothered if people dont like my story, as long as i enjoy writing it, but **still**, feedback appreicated more than anything. Equivalent Exchange people, I work hard on chapters, I want something back, You read my story you give something **HA!** I know, I'm obsessed, but really arent we all? shot again again

I'll also say that the describing in this story might be a bit off, but this is all how **I** see it. Like the enviroment and stuff, I dont really know about it so I just went with my own ideas and stuff. And I'm not going to change it either, it's my story after all, I can to what I want har har har!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, nor do I own any of the characters of FMA. They all belong to Hiromu Arakawa-sensei.

_**Enjoy**_

* * *

_Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic_

_.:Alienized:.  
_

_Chapter 2 - The Replica Mother  
_

--

She woke up with an enormous headache. Lay for a few seconds with just her eyes closed, trying to get used to the thundering pain in her head and body.

And when she did wake up she was surrounded by white. So clean and sterile white that it burned blinded her sensitive eyes at first.

"I'm in… a hospital?" she asked herself quietly. _"What happened?"_ she first thought, but then remembered when she had frantically had jumped through the gate and came out on the other side. With a frown she remembered how she fell down after coming through the gate, as well, she reckoned that she had lost her consciousness when she hit the ground. Not that it was much of a surprise since; after all, it was quite a fall. Surprisingly enough she didn't have any more injuries than pain all over her body and maybe some sprained joints or broken bones. At least that's what she assumed.

The strong white color was still too much for her eyes, especially if there wasn't much to look at anyway. But just as she closed her eyes again, a nurse entered the room she was in.

"_She looks pretty normal to me. Am I really on the other side?"_ she thought as she took a quick look at the nurse.

"Oh I see you're awake now Miss. Good thing, we were starting to get a bit worried about you. How are you feeling?" the nurse said as she placed a glass of water on the nightstand beside the bed and smiled at the blonde.

"Uh well," she murmured debating if she should answer the nurse or if she did, something would happen happen. After all, she didn't really know how this world's inhabitants would behave towards a girl just suddenly fell from the sky. However, she decided it couldn't hurt to answer the question. After all, they _did_ take her to the hospital. "My head hurts real bad and so does the rest of my body. And I'm kind of tired, too." She spoke hesitantly and the nurse smiled.

"Well that's not all that bad considering that you fell from such a height." She said and Winry stiffened. Did she know? Did she know about the gate? Was it really a good idea to be answering this woman? "We assumed that you fell from one of the balconies, is that right?"

Winry exhaled and looked down for a bit before nodding.

"Alright. You should get some rest Miss. You've been asleep for a few days now and I guess you're still quite tired. When you feel like you're ready to go you'll be able to leave the hospital, though we're a bit worried since we can't contact anyone who knows you or has any relation to you." The nurse spoke and looked at Winry.

"Uh that's because I'm not from this country. I'm a traveler so I'm not really in the same place all the time." She made up with a smile.

"Ah I see. Well, if you are sure it's okay then it should be fine. But do try to sleep for at least a bit." The nurse said and smiled before exiting again.

Winry obeyed and leaned back into the pillows.

"_I guess I can wait just a little while, finding Ed and Al."_ she thought and soon she fell into a deep dream filled sleep.

--

"Miss, are you sure you're ready to leave just yet?"

"Yes I can't keep lying around here. There's someone I need to find." She said with a small determined smile.

The receptionist returned the smile and nodded. "Fine then, Miss. As long as you're sure you can take care of yourself."

Winry smiled and turned to walk away.

"I hope you find who you're looking for, Miss." She heard from behind her. She turned to smile gratefully at the lady behind the counter.

"Yeah, so do I." she said and left.

So now she could see that she wasn't in Amestris anymore.

The people were wearing different clothes and the cars were much more advanced than the ones she knew in Amestris.

And there was something about the air. It was thicker and much less fresh than the one in Amestris. It looked grayer and it made the world look a little duller. Her gaze once again fell on the advanced cars, which flashed around on the slim roads like rushing ants. The cars in Amestris were driven by alchemy, but these were driven by something causing them to spray out big dirty clouds of smoke. Her eyes strayed to the big factories above the houses and out in the horizon. Smoke was coming from the enormous chimneys. The air was being polluted by those factories and cars. There was so many cars and factories stuffed into a small area it was polluting a whole lot more than in Amestris where factories more often were placed in areas by themselves so they did'nt pollute the air in the cities and villages. The air made her want to cough.

She began to move around in the streets. Her unsure and slow movements must have caused a lot of attention because everyone was looking at her and it made her feel nervous by feeling all those strangers eyes on her. She wasn't even sure they had the same way of thinking as in Amestris.

She started to run. She couldn't stand the looks she got from the crowds around her. She didn't know what they were thinking, she didn't know how they were or if they even spoke the same language as her.

It felt like she ran for ages until she came to a less crowded area of what she assumed was a big city. There she slumped down against a wall and buried her face in her knees.

"_It wasn't supposed to be like this."_ She thought. She had thought that the Elrics would somehow have seen her or noticed. That she would be reunited with them just as she came out from the gate. But that had been a stupid thought. Of course they wouldn't have seen her. Not that they wouldn't care, but it took her a fair amount of time to get to the gate and then get through it. The two had probably left there shortly after they arrived themselves. And now she was stuck in this polluted and foreign city without any idea where the two brothers had gone to. This wasn't what she went through the gate for. This wasn't what she threw away her whole world for. If just _someone_ could help her find out just where she was and what she should do now.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. The abrupt sensation of a touch made her flinch and she slowly looked up, genuinely hoping it to be Ed's hand. But when faced the person in front of her it was a familiar yet total different face she met.

"Why hello dear, you seem lost, is there something wrong?" sounded a familiar voice.

_Trisha Elric_

Winry froze. Ed and Al's mother! What was she doing here?! How did she get to the other side?

"Mrs. Elric?" she asked uncertainly and became even more uncertain by the confused look in the elder woman's eyes.

"Elric? I'm sorry but I think you've mistaken me for another. My name is Trisha Becker; I live just a few streets away from here." The woman said as she offered a hand to the younger woman in front of her. Winry took it and was pulled to her feet.

"But-" Winry tried. It wasn't Trisha Elric after all? "Do you have any children, Mrs. Becker?"

"No I don't, and please don't call me Mrs. Becker, just call me Trisha. Besides I'm a Miss. I've never been married." The brown haired woman told her and smiled that oh so familiar smile. It hurt to see that woman in a place like this. It reminded her too much of the two brothers and their pain.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Winry said and gave a quick bow, but Trisha just waved it off with a smile and a shake with her head.

"Do you live somewhere around here, Miss?" Trisha asked and looked at Winry with a sweet smile.

"Uh no, I'm a, uh, traveler. I don't really have a home, nor do I know much about this place." Winry said and forced a small smile through her frustration and despair still lingering inside her.

"Oh I see… Then why don't you come live with me then, Miss? I've always wanted the company. Only if you would like to of course."

Winry smiled. That did sound as a fine idea. If she was going to look for Ed and Al in this foreign place, then she needed to find a place to live for a while. Just until she found them. And she _would_ find them, she knew it.

"Yes. Yes I would like that very much, thank you."

"Wonderful! Follow me then, I'll show you where I live." Trisha said and gently pushed Winry forward and they started to walk down the street.

As they walked through the city, Winry gave herself time to look more at the city. It really wasn't that much different from Amestris or Central. The people had the same expressions as the people back in her own world. They smiled and laughed like in Amestris.

They reached a small apartment and Trisha stopped at the door. She unlocked the door and motioned for Winry to follow. They entered a small hall with kitchen to the right and living room to the left. In front of them there was a staircase which Winry assumed, led to the bedroom. Trisha took off her coat and hung it up on a coat rack and motioned for Winry to do the same.

"Come let me show you where you'll be living from now on." She said and smiled while guiding Winry up the stairs. At the top there was a small hall with three doors. Trisha pointed at the doors explaining what was behind them. "Here is my bedroom, there's the bathroom and down at the end is the guest room, which will be your room. Please, make yourself at home."

Winry smiled and thanked the kind woman. She just nodded and smiled sweetly before reaching the stairs again.

"_Wait."_ She thought suddenly. _"Ed had lived in this city for two years hadn't he? Has he ever met her? Maybe she knows where Ed and Al went."_

"Wait, Trisha!" she called and the one in question turned and looked back at Winry, a smile still on her face.

"What is it, dear?"

"Do you… do you know a person called Edward Elric?" she asked really not caring if it was somehow a sore topic. Trisha looked up in thought for a while before looking back down at Winry with a cheerful smile.

"You mean the young rocket scientist? The one with the golden eyes and blonde hair?" Winry nodded, though she didn't know anything about the rocket scientist part. "Oh I don't know all that much about him you know, but he helped me when I dropped some of my groceries one time. Such a sweet young man. He lived just a few blocks away from here. He always wore such a sad face when he saw me. Not always very talkative, but always very polite toward the elder ladies." She said with a smile. "Though not very often towards the men," she added with a chuckle. Winry smiled in recognition. Although she didn't remember him all that much as 'polite', the disrespectful part did match quite beautifully with him.

"But wait, why do you talk about him in the past tense like that? Has something happened to him? Do you know where he is?" Winry asked eagerly, and maybe a little frightened as well.

"I really don't know. He's been running a lot around in the past few days, but since the uprising I haven't seen him or his friend Alfons anywhere. I don't know what happened to him, but I can assure you that young Mister Elric is out there somewhere."

Winry sighed faintly. Trisha seemed to notice the hope that shone through the younger woman's eyes.

"May I be so bold to ask you why you're so interested in this person? Is he special to you in some way?"

Winry blushed abruptly. "We-well…" she mumbled. She might as well tell her the truth. This woman had been so kind to take her in without asking for anything in return and even told her about Ed. "I'm… I'm looking for him actually. He's my… my best friend." She said and looked down sadly. Why was that so hard to say?

Trisha noticed her discomfort and smiled a reassuring smile at her.

"You shouldn't worry. You'll just have to keep looking. We know he's out there. All we have to do is find him."

Winry looked up and returned the smile.

"Yeah."

"I'm going down to make dinner. You just make yourself comfortable." The chestnut haired woman said and started down the stairs. Winry turned around and stepped into the room. It was simple with a bed, a nightstand, a small table, a chair and a bookcase. Right before she began to close the door she heard Trisha's voice from the stairs.

"Oh, one more thing!" her voice rung through the hall. Winry's head popped out through the door and Trisha continued. "I never heard your name, Miss."

Winry smiled. "Winry."

Trisha smiled. "Winry. What a pretty name."

* * *

_A/N: Yup, that's all for now folks, hope you enjoyed :) I'll post the next chapter very soon, after I edit it and read it through, so it might be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, since I have my job to look after too TTTT But anyway the title of the next chapter will be called **The First Clue**, so be patient until next chapter _

_Thank you for reading_

_Until next time_

_-Shirou Hana_

* * *


	3. The First Clue

**Author's Note:** Right so here is chapter 3 of my first **Fullmetal Alchemist** fanfic and I have to say it was out quite fast considering how slow I always use to be :P So anyway, I think this chapter came out quite well, we're nearing the _real_ main plot shortly. I might post the next chapter tomorrow already since it's really short, mostly just an introduction for the new enviroment in the story and some information about whereabouts and such, kind of like a short sequel to this chapter, heh :P But anyway you'll have to wait for the next chapter, I'm not posting it today anyway.

This time there's not much to say actually other than to remind you again that to have an idea of what happens you **will need to have seen the FMA movie Conqueror of Shamballa.** Otherwise you're completely lost :P And as always you're free to ask if there's something you want to know, I will try my utmost to reply on all reviews

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, nor do I own any of the characters of FMA. They all belong to Hiromu Arakawa.

**_Enjoy_**

* * *

_Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic_

_.:Alienized:.  
_

_Chapter 3 - The First Clue_

--

The days went on and Winry kept searching in the big city she found out was called Munich, in a country called Germany. With still no signs of finding the two brothers her hope began to die down slowly. It made her sad that she, after throwing away her previous life, in the end just came to a foreign world just to make a different living without anyone she knew. It felt terrible to know that her sacrifice had been in vain. She silently prayed for her to meet them one day, but it just didn't seem to do her any good other than giving her some faint idea that somehow, she was guided by someone.

It had been almost a month since she had crossed the gate.

It was on a day when she was returning from the grocery shop, a chore she and Trisha had agreed would be fair since she had no qualification for a job in this world, that she saw Miss. Gracier waving goodbye to a man Winry knew looked familiar.

She went a little closer and her eyes widened as she recognized him. She ran towards him a smile forming on her face.

"Hughes-san! Hughes-san!" she yelled as she neared him. He stopped at hearing his name and turned around, but didn't seem to recognize the face he met.

"Excuse me, Miss, do I know you?" he asked confusedly, if not a little suspiciously.

Winry stopped a few feet away as she realized that he didn't know her at all. This wasn't really Hughes after all. He was just some sort of copy with no knowledge of the other world. She had seen many familiar faces in this city, but none of them recognized her. So of course Hughes didn't know her either. Luckily for her he was wearing a police uniform and she quickly came up with an excuse.

"Uhm you're a police officer so I've heard about you." Winry exhaled as she panted from running while holding a bag of groceries in her hand.

"Oh alright. I'm sorry, but after the earlier fuss you can't be too sure. So what did you want?" Hughes said and looked down at her. Oh, he did just look too much like the old Hughes. So much that it hurt.

"Uh I'm looking for someone. And I thought you might know where he is or where to look. Edward Elric. Do you know him?" she asked, still slightly panting. She looked up at the black haired man. He didn't seem to be in such deep thought to remember that name.

"Aaah, Edward! So he did have a girlfriend! I knew he was just covering it up with that foul temper of his." Hughes laughed and it increased a bit more from the blush forming on Winry's cheeks.

"Ye-yes. That's right. Do you know where he is, Hughes-san?" Winry asked and was thankful that the blush only stayed for a short time.

"Yeah in fact I do. He came here about a month ago all scratched and beaten. Caught in an uprising I assume. A bit in a rush it seemed. He went into his apartment along with another boy with a strange red coat. He came back out shortly after with a suitcase and his coat on. I asked him where they were heading and he said, Berlin. He wouldn't answer me with anything else than that he wanted to see something different than this city. And then he left with that strange boy. I never saw him again."

Winry's eyes widened. Now she finally knew where they were. Berlin. She knew where that was. She guessed it was up north. Finally she'd be able to find Ed and Al. That other city was even bigger than Munich, but that didn't matter. She was one step closer. In almost a month she'd wandered about in a city where they didn't even live and suddenly a clue comes to her from out of nowhere. She hadn't felt so happy and hopeful in a long time.

"Thank you very much, Sir! I have to go now. Bye!" she said and with a quick bow she stormed off, leaving behind a slightly confused police officer.

Winry ran back to Trisha's apartment and opened the door a bit too loudly. She rushed into the kitchen, where Trisha was sitting and drinking tea. The placed the bag on the counter and was running up the stairs before Trisha even got to notice she was even there. Winry pulled out a bag and stuffed that little clothing she had, in it and then went to her nightstand and opened a little drawer. Inside it she pulled out a book and a few pieces of paper before reaching a small bundle of notes. It wasn't all that much, but it was enough for a train ticket, a bit of food and maybe a small taxi ride. She stuffed the money into her pocket and rushed down the stairs.

Downstairs Trisha was standing in the hall, observing as Winry pulled on her jacket, it was at the end of the summer after all .

"Where are you going Winry? And what's the rush?" she asked quietly yet somewhat knowingly.

"I met a man who knew where Ed is. He's in Berlin and I'm going there to find him and his brother. I have to go. This is my only clue, my only hope of finding him." Winry said as she fixed her jackets buttons.

"Of course dear, I know you have to and I always knew you wouldn't stay here forever. You're a determined girl, I know that. But you have to take care of yourself okay? And when you find him, please tell him hi from me."

Winry nodded. She opened the door and started down the three steps down on the street.

"You're in love with that boy aren't you?" Winry stopped. She sighed as a blush unconsciously spread across her cheeks. Realization finally dawned on her.

"Yeah I guess you're right. Maybe that's the whole reason why I wanted to find him that much in the first place. But how did you know?"

Trisha chuckled lightly. "Oh well every time you heard about him or every time you were asked to describe him you always got that look in your eyes. That longing look I've seen so many times before. It was so obvious I couldn't help but notice. Even Miss. Gracier noticed." Trisha said and smiled a smile a bit sweeter than before. She moved out on the first step on the small staircase and spread out her arms. "Now, can I please have one last hug before you disappear from my life forever?"

Winry smiled and ignored her blush as she moved towards the chestnut haired woman and slipped into her arms. It felt so good with a hug at a time like this and Winry squeezed a little bit harder. A small tear rolled down her cheek, she wasn't entirely sure why. She didn't really know if it was just a spur of the moment or the fact that Trisha had just made her realize that she was in love with Ed and made her reason to find him a whole lot more meaningful, that made her want to cry, but at least one single tear should have its rights. They broke away and Winry wiped the tear away.

"You take care now." Trisha said and smiled.

Winry returned the smile. "You too."

And then she turned and went down the street, wondering now how in the world she was going find two boys in a city even bigger than Munich. But she would manage, she knew that. First she just had find that darn train station in this city.

* * *

_A/N: So that's third chapter, hope you enjoyed. Next chapter will be, as earlier mentioned above,_ _will be very short and come in maybe a few days, seeing as it is so short. Small, but significant. It will be called **Next Stop, Berlin**, so stay tuned for next chapter of Alienized._

_Thank you for reading  
_

_Until next time_

_-Shirou Hana_

* * *


	4. Next Stop, Berlin

**Author's Note:** Hullo guys! I'm back again with a short chapter, sorry shot and a lil message so yea..

First off, yes this chapter is really short since its mostly a presentation of the new enviroments and Winry's new mission. Since she's now in Berlin she is now a step closer to finding the Elrics, but you know.. Berlin is pretty big... And bigger than Munich too.. But even though this chapter is really short the next chapter is going to be quite exciting I dare to say. And also the chapter after that. Or well things are going get more interesting soon. But **first**, you will have to live with this chapter for at least a week since I'm going on holiday and I'm home next sunday if I'm lucky. BUT rejoice for then I'll give you an exciting chapter yay shot again

Anyway I hope you enjoy and can live with this until next time :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, nor do I own any of the characters of FMA. They all belong to Hiromu Arakawa.

_**Enjoy**_

* * *

_Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic_

_.:Alienized:.  
_

_Chapter 4 - Next Stop, Berlin  
_

--

She sat in the train by the window, her head resting on her palm while she gazed outside not really looking at the scenery.

"_How nostalgic."_ She thought while sighing a bit and for a moment taking the scenery in. _"This is exactly how Ed always sits when we travel by train."_

It was as if she could see him everywhere; see him in everything she did and others as well. When a boy would laugh or yell she always thought of Ed laughing or yelling. When she saw two or three people walking down the streets she always thought of Ed, Al and her, the two oldest always yelling or arguing and the youngest staying behind passively. Or when she was sad or angry and left the house to be alone she thought of Ed and how he always left the house to think when he was sad or angry. In most cases because he got angry, Winry thought with a smile.

She felt she had to find them soon. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to bear the life without them for much longer. When she constantly expected to find them or get a clue or just renew her picture of them. Something to reassure her that they were in fact out there somewhere. She wanted to see their faces, to touch them. Make them real to her again and not just a faint dream or a sliver of hope. She had always kept up with waiting, but she found that searching was all that much harder to do. You keep following a lead, but how can you ever be certain that what you are searching for isn't there anymore or ever was? After a month, living almost every day trying to find clues about the brothers she still hadn't gotused to that uncertainty yet. If she could just find something that was real, a letter, a drawing and better, a picture she would probably get her hopes up again.

It felt like she almost didn't even remember how they looked, though it hadn't been all that long since she last saw them. They had been away for much longer when they were searching for the Philosopher's stone, but at that time there were always pictures on the wall, drawings, letters, Ed's old automail parts, the small metal horses they always made to prove their talent in alchemy or the burnt mark in the roof after a failed transmutation with fire. There was always something to remind her that they would come back and that they were out there alive and still searching. And she would know if something happened, because people knew who she was and what she was to the Fullmetal alchemist and his brother. But in this foreign world no one knew her and no one knew about her relation to Ed and Al. She was all alone in her search and she had never felt so lonely before.

A voice rung in the speakers in the train, telling her that they had now reached Berlin. She had never been there before, only read about it. She knew that if Ed and Al wasn't in Munich, and she had always had an hunch that it might be true, then she had to know where in the world she was and learn about the cities in Germany, in case she had to travel to find the two Elrics.

The city was big. As to say much bigger than Winry had assumed. It was more than twice as big as Munich. Her first thought, as she stepped out of the train, was that she never figured Ed and Al as people who enjoyed living in a big city. If the air was bad in Munich this was hell for a country girl like her. The air was thick and foggy and it felt as if you were breathing a smoker's smelly exhales.

Though when she got outside she thought that it just might be because of the train station the air smelled to bad. Outside it wasn't much worse than Munich. The houses were more divided and it made the air fell fresher and more welcoming. Even though the city was much bigger than Munich it didn't feel all that much like it. She felt like she really did have a bigger chance at finding the Elrics here.

But after hours of walking blindly around the city she found that it was just as hopeless as in Munich. The houses didn't look much different from anywhere else only that she recognized nothing here.

Maybe this really just was a faint sliver of hope after all.

* * *

_A/N: So this is what you get for now, hope you liked it If you're patient you'll get treated by a new chapter next week and the chapter will be called **Familiar Tears**, look forward to it I think you'll enjoy it _

_Thank you for reading  
_

_Uniltnext time_

_-Shirou Hana_

* * *


	5. Familiar Tears

**Author's Note:** Okey people I'm bach again :) And I now give you a new chapter of **Alienized**! When I came back from my holiday I was actually a bit surprised to see how _few_ reviews I'd gotten. Usually when a week passes I get around 4-5 reviews just because of the long time I dont get to check, but this time there was _none_. **But** Then I was happily surprised to see a whole** bunch** of people who put my story on their Story Alert, and you know, I'd rather have people enjoy my fic and get ingrigued by it, than get a lot of reviews. But still, I'd really want some Equivalent Exchnge here, so if you like my story, or enjoyed the chapter **please leave a review**. Reviews make authors happy, me included, and I dont beg for anything else. Even if its because you disliked the chapter, just tell me so I know what I do wrong, kay? NOT that my other reviewers are bad or anything, I love you, you know that ;P

Well anyway, stupid rant about me complaining D: Or just me being obsessed with **FMA** and Equivalent Exchange :P

So anyway, here's **chapter 5** for ya hope you like it, plot thickens I guess.. Next chapter is my fav so far so you better look forward to it ;P

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, nor do I own any of the characters of FMA. They all belong to Hiromu Arakawa.

**_Enjoy_**

* * *

_Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic_

_.:Alienized:.  
_

_Chapter 5 - Familiar Tears  
_

--

"Winry dear, will you be so kind and go get Christin's medicine at the hospital? It just came this morning and Christin needs it as soon as possible. Besides, wouldn't a good walk give you a chance to find that boy you were looking for?" a woman said sweetly.

Winry's head perked and she smiled at the woman. The woman whom she was living with at the time being. The circumstances had not been much different from the time when she met Trisha in Munich. The difference was more that this woman had a family. And even though it was quite miserable it was there. She had two children, a son and a daughter, the first only an infant and the second had just turned four a few weeks ago. The little girl had been thrilled to celebrate her fourth birthday with her new "big sister". The girl's father had died in the war and when her mother married another man she had herself a little brother. The newborn boy's father often worked hard to get them a place to live and Mrs. Schneider also worked at some times, but the reason why they could manage to somehow afford to have another person living there was because that Winry had started out working too. Small jobs with sewing and babysitting didn't do much for just one person though, but when Winry gave all her money to the family they had enough to have her live with them since it gave that tad more money to live for. And also, Winry was of course willing to babysit the children while the parents were at work, giving Mrs. Schneider more time to be at work. And last, Winry also did chores like cooking dinner, cleaning and picking up medicines for the small girl who suffered a bad sickness that Winry never really did figure out what was, the only thing she knew about it was that it made the girl sleep much more, have a constant cold and always be very pale.

So even though Winry's search for the Elric brothers didn't go all that well as she planned, she had a place to stay, at least for a while. She hadn't given up on them just yet. She was pretty sure she never would, no she _knew _she never would. But after two and a half long months her hope once again began to waver, but this time it came even closer to unbearable. This city was so big, that they could be in the other end of it and no one would know about them. She only found two people who had _heard_ about them, the only thing confirming that they had to be in the city somewhere. So she kept on looking, searching for every small speck of a track or remainder of their presence.

The summer was reaching its end in the last few days of August and the weather was starting to get colder, sun only warming the air a few times that month. Winry's coat was starting to get too thin for the cold and windy weather, but the family didn't have enough money to buy her new clothes so she had to keep up with the ones she had. She wrapped her arms around her body as she neared the small hospital. It would do good to come inside where it was a little warmer, she thought.

"I'm sorry Miss, but the packaging of the medicine had been delayed. If you're in a hurry, I could recommend that you head for the national hospital a few kilometers away. Otherwise you could wait a day or two and see if it has arrived." the lady behind the counter said sweetly when Winry aksed for Christin's medicine.

Winry nodded, it wasn't the first time the medicine had been delayed and she was directed to the national hospital, but this time Winry wasn't going to go back and just wait for it. Last time Winry had come home without the medicine, Christin's sickness had gotten worse and she had started coughing and wheezing. The small girl had suffered two whole days without the medicine and Winry had felt terrible about it. It was her fault, Winry had thought and she wasn't going to let that happen again. So she went back out in the wind and headed for the bigger hospital in the middle of the city.

She waved to a few people on her way to the hospital. After a month and a half living in the city she got to know some of the people who lived close to the Schneider residence and where she went otherwise. It felt reassuring to at least feel a bit welcome in a city as big as this, but she still hadn't gotten used to its maps, food and that foreign language they also sported in this country. A language they preferred to call "German" or in their own language "_Deutsch_", but Winry never really learned all that much aside from telling people what her name was. **(A/N: Until I say otherwise, don't mind this language thing too much. I'm just so perplexed with it..)**

The hospital showed in front of her and it was quite easy to see it was the national hospital of Berlin **(A/N: I do NOT know anything of the national hospital in Berlin fyi or very much about the city for that matter)** since it was to say quite big. She reached the big doors and entered, again indulging in the warmth that the building sported. She immediately went to the receptionist and was shown where they handed out medicine. After she had purchased the medicine and stuffed it under her jacket she began her way back down the hall where she came, until she was stopped by a sound. A familiar sound.

Crying.

And not only that, but she also recognized the _voice_. She couldn't believe her ears. If it was her eyes she would have rubbed them.

_Alphonse?_

She looked through the doors in the corridor and found empty rooms and rooms with people sleeping inside and then a room with three people inside. One sitting on a chair, currently buttoning his shirt after what looked like an examination by the doctor in front of him, and the third person on a chair next to the other two, crying. This time Winry really did rub her eyes.

That blonde hair. She could recognize it anywhere.

* * *

_A/N: Geez I never noticed just how **short** this chapter is..! For that I am sorry, I thought I did a good job TT-TT But it might be because there so little space and dialogue.. But anyway here's chapter 5 hope you enjoyed :) Next chapter will come out maybe friday if youre lucky and leave a lot of reviews :D Chapter 6 will be called **Him** (sheer lack of idea for a title, but actually gets the message out xD)_

So anyway people now that you are so kind to read my fic, I thought I'd share my thoughts with you here :) 'Cause I've been mulling over some ideas for a new FMA fanfic. And so I thought I'd share it with you and see what you think of it. Please give me some thoughts about it and ideas are always welcome. I'm pretty sure I'll post it some time, but if there are a bunch of people telling me not to then I might reconsider it. Anyway here's a little introduction of it (which you can also see on my account):

--

_**Title: The Sightless Alchemist  
**Summary: After a surprise attack after being out on a military mission, Edward Elric recieves a fatal blow to his head. When he wakes up, he realizes that no matter how many times Winry asks him to look at her, he cant. And never will.  
Genre: Angst/Romance  
Pairing: EdxWin  
Rated: T for pretty strong violence and Ed's dirty mouth._

--  
Yea basically it's a fic about Ed getting blind and having to cope with it. And some surprises over just how much he can cope with it after he leaves for a year to train with Izumi to train his sightless body. And me must not forget about the military ball. Which also means that we might actually see some humor in it even though its pretty angsty that Ed is blind. Or maybe not. Who knows..  
--

_So anyway, thank you for reading._

_Until next time_

_-Shirou hana_

* * *


	6. Him

**Author's Note:** Hi everybody! I'm back with next chapter of **Alienized **:) Hope this will be to your liking. And for all those who thought it would just be another fic with few chapters and a happy ending just like that: Fooled ya!! :D Like heck I'm gonna write another one of those. You might not like the plot as it twists, but I can tell you, it is going to twist :P At least thats what I think xD

Anyways chapter 6 here you go :) And dont forget to check out my new fic, **The Sightless Alchemist**. It's going to be out when this chapter comes out so yeah. But the first chapter is mostly a taste or a teaser, since this story still comes in first priority :P

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, nor do I own any of the characters of FMA. They all belong to Hiromu Arakawa.

**_Enjoy_**

* * *

_Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic_

_.:Alienized:.  
_

_Chapter 6 - Him  
_

--

Winry couldn't believe it.

After months of searching and dismay she finally found them, and in such an unsuspected place as the hospital as well. She felt overjoyed and happy, but also nervous and maybe a little sad. She feared that Ed might get angry at her for coming to the other side of the gate. Or sad, maybe even cry, because of what she went through and the fact that she could never return. Or he might get so confused and surprised that he left and her chance was wasted. She had painfully thought the thought that he might even be married in the world. He was at a marriageable age after all and Winry couldn't say no to the fact that he was in fact quite good looking. At least if you looked past his foul temper, way too common scowl and his outrageous lack of vertical growth. She had imagined him, happy with another woman, a ring on his finger and maybe even holding a child, looking down at it with a father's eyes. But ever since her realization when she left Munich, that thought always stung so hard she had to keep reassuring herself that he just couldn't. Maybe she wasn't ready to meet them after all.

Inside the room, Ed stood up with the doctor, put on his jacket, coughed a few times and then put a hand on his crying brother's shoulders. Al looked up at his brother with red swollen eyes from all the crying and then jumped from his seat and flung his arms around his beloved brother. He buried his face in the brown coat and let his tears become silent and be absorbed in the rough brown fabric. Ed just stood and gently wrapped his arms around his younger brother in an almost protective manner, wearing one of the worst expressions Winry had ever seen. She had never seen him look so sad.

Sad over what? She wondered. She had an idea that it was Ed who had been to an examination at the doctor, but what in the world had made them so sad?

Al let go and dried his eyes and began walking towards the door. Ed picked up Al's coat and said something to the doctor that Winry didn't hear and the doctor put a hand on the older Elrics shoulder. Ed turned around and wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulder and led him out of the door.

Winry hid behind an empty counter and followed them with her eyes as the doctor went the opposite way and the two brothers went the way Winry was going earlier, towards the exit. She followed them and hid behind several of things so they wouldn't see her. She didn't know why, but she didn't want them to see her. Not yet at least.

She could still feel her heart beat hard against her ribcage. It had been a long time since she had ever felt her heart beat this fast. She still wasn't sure if it was a dream or if it was real. She had dreamt of seeing the Elrics quite a few times so it wouldn't be that much of a change suddenly waking up in the nightmare of reality and find it being just yet another dream.

The brothers exited the hospital and Winry decided to follow them. It was now or never, she knew. She just randomly saw them on a whim and she wasn't going to miss her only chance in months to finally be with them again. If she was going to meet with them, she could decide later, but first she had to know where they lived.

After quite a long walk they came to a door, much similar to the one Trisha lived in, if just a little bigger. Al seemed to be feeling better, he wasn't crying and Ed's grip around his shoulder was loosening and finally letting go as he began unlocking the door. She could hear him cough before pushing his brother inside, then stepping inside himself and closing the door behind him and locking it again.

Winry stood for a while, just processing it all. She still couldn't believe it entirely and the thought that it might stay that way until she got to touch them and speak to them. But first she had to get back with the medicine. Christin's wellbeing came before herself, she knew that. So she took in all the information she could on the street where she was standing. She tried to get a picture of it in her mind and as she walked back, she remembered every step and everything she could recognize the path with.

When she returned it was dinner time and the family was already sitting at the table. Winry opened the bag with the medicine and pulled out a bottle of pills. She poured two of them into her hand and gave them to the small girl. The girl immediately took a glass of water and gulped it down with the pills.

Winry smiled as she sat down beside Christin. She knew she was going to leave soon. She wanted to live close to the Elrics and she couldn't continue walking several kilometers just to see them, she wanted more than that. But she would miss this kind and giving family. They took her in and she had always enjoyed living with them. But she wasn't ready to leave just yet. She wasn't ready for any goodbyes yet. Until she found out something else, she would cherish her life with the small family.

--

The next day Winry was going to find the Elrics again like she had yesterday. She intently concentrated on the road as she remembered the way to the two brothers' house and after a long walk she finally stood there again.

It was morning and the streets were almost silent. It was weekend today and most of the workers had a free day to just stay at home, sleep in and have an enjoyable time with their families. As did the Elrics. From what Winry could see through their window, it seemed Al was the one making the food in the house (which didn't surprise her since her past horrifying experiences with Ed's cooking had showed her that the blonde's cooking was not to be taken lightly). He was in the kitchen and doing something on the stove. Winry couldn't quite make it out but even through the slightly open window she could smell something good. She could see him smiling and through the window, she heard him yell at his brother to come down for breakfast. There was no response and Winry could just all too clearly see the annoyed frown appear on the younger Elric's face. It was still a bit strange to see him be able to show expressions and she smiled every time he made characteristic expressions since his former lack of ability to show emotions apparently had made him exaggerate his expressions more than before. He yelled after his brother again, slightly louder than before. She saw him tap his foot on the floor and open his mouth to yell one last time, she guessed that the coming round would also involve a few curses too. Luckily Al paused as his brother descended the stairs and grumbled a tired request for his brother to cease his annoying yelling. Al grinned apologetic and turned back to the food on the stove. Ed slumped down in front of the small table and let his head fall on the table while holding the handle on a coffee cup assumingly asking for coffee asap. Al laughed and turned to pour coffee in his brother's cup, then placing two plates of food on the table in front of them both. Ed quickly gulped the coffee and stood up to fetch a new cup.

Winry grinned. After all that time it seemed Ed's morning habits hadn't changed. He was still too lazy to get up when he was asked to and usually preferred to wait for the third call to finally get out of the bed. And also it seemed that, no matter how much time he got to sleep, he'd still be grumpy in the morning, demanding his coffee before any other actions could be initiated. But when all that was taken care of he would always settle down for a peaceful meal, smiling and talkative, unless of course someone would be so ignorant to be commenting something about his height. Then the meal wouldn't be quite as peaceful anymore, Winry added with a giggle.

It looked like Ed had settled with a peaceful breakfast. The two was talking and laughing while eating their food and Winry felt such a huge urge to just barge in and join them. They looked as happy as two miserable young men could look. They ate their food and Ed drank his coffee as they went on with their friendly talk. Ed stood up and went to the coat rack and grabbed his coat. As he put it on Winry found that he was going out, and she knew she didn't want him to see her just yet. First she wanted to know how they managed their lives in this foreign world and how they lived with each other. So she turned and ran into an alley and hid as Ed went out through the wooden door. He coughed a few times before taking a look in through the window to check on his younger brother. His eyes widened a little and he grinned and waved through the window. Then he turned around and left past the alley in which Winry was hiding in.

When she sure that he was out of sight she went back in front of the window and looked through it. Al was cleaning up the dishes and drying them. He went to the stairs and walked up before returning after a few minutes with a rather large book under his arm. He sat on the couch, opened it and began reading. She loved seeing his concentrated face, along with all his other expressions. She found that she enjoyed it every time he would change his expression since she had gotten used to only sensing his emotions rather than seeing them show in his face.

Time went as she stood and studied the 12 year old's expressions and actions as he walked around in the house and did various chores like cleaning off the table, sorting the books on the bookshelf, swiping and placing a few pills on the table along with a glass of water. Somehow those pills worried her. She almost knew it was meant for Ed since if it was for Al himself he would probably already have swallowed them. Her stomach twisted as she tried to connect the pills with the day at the hospital and Edward's somewhat frequent coughing. Just what in the world was wrong with that guy?

She was too caught up in thought to notice the footsteps nearing her until she suddenly felt a sensation on her shoulder she had missed so much, almost craved to feel again. The feeling of cold, hard metal and smooth machinery combined with the human anatomy in a work of art called automail, closed around her small shoulder in the form of a firm hand. She flinched, partly from the sudden sensation, the surprise and the fact that there could only be one person in this world with functioning automail.

"You know it's not really very polite to be staring into other people's windows like that, Miss." She heard the voice come from behind her. Her heart froze and her eyes widened as she felt her hands start shaking in anxiousness. It was him. It was _him_! He was really there, finally meeting her. Her biggest dream for months suddenly coming true. She slowly turned around and her dilated pupils met his and her heart felt like being stopped as she felt a shockwave of excitement rush trough her.

"_Ed"_ she thought. She wanted to say it out loud, but her body wouldn't obey. Never had he looked this beautiful to her. The automail hand shining in the sun, almost radiating careful maintenance with oil and polishing. His blonde hair back in a ponytail, his famous bangs hanging their traditional way, framing his now longer and sharper face. His clothes was somewhat similar to the way they looked the last time she saw him, the black vest effectively showing off his slightly more grown up shapes and the brown jacket covering his shoulders and shirt clad arms. And his eyes. They showed his whole story with their illuminating golden color and they were just as breathtaking and powerful as she remembered them, only that they were filled with so much melancholy and solitary that she wanted to cry and hug him to death. But the look of confusion made her want to giggle, the way they shone a bright light of curiosity which she guessed would never really disappear no matter how old he got. And was she dreaming when she found herself looking _**up**_ in his eyes? True enough he had grown quite a few centimeters above her head and she could only imagine his utter joy when he last measured himself.

She wanted to wrap her arms around him tightly and kiss him and scream and yell and tell him that she was Winry and that she finally found him, but then she saw the look in his eyes as he got a closer look at her. She had somehow expected his eyes to fill with happiness and joyful surprise, but what she got was very different from what she expected. His eyes were filled with a sorrowful mix of grief, sadness, shock and perhaps a bit of fear and anger.

"W-Wi…Win…ry. Is..Is that… you…Winry?" he stammered and she felt his hand begin to tremble on her shoulder. His grip tightened and his eyes pierced hers. Suddenly she didn't want to reveal herself at all. The amount of sadness and disappointment he showed was killing her just as it was. She suddenly felt all her efforts to be a bad idea. She hadn't realized just how much it would hurt her blonde friend to know that she had given up her whole life and career to be with him and his brother. And disappointed to know that she would do such a rash and foolish thing to just have the slight chance at seeing him again. And angry that she would ever consider doing such things for a person like _him_. Maybe he wouldn't even want to acknowledge her presence in this world and just ask her to leave.

Maybe she could start over. In a foreign place, taking another name and act like another person. She had seen many people who looked just like people in Amestris, some with different names and slight changes in appearance. There had to be one of her too in this world. She could just play that person and let Ed believe that she knew nothing of him.

Yes that would be her plan, though quite rash and sudden. She would live a life where her name wasn't Winry anymore. She would pretend to be this world's Winry and fall in love with Ed as this world's Winry and make him fall in love with her, being this world's Winry. She would make a new start; try to change the mistakes she found in her relationship with the two brothers.

But first, she needed a new name.

"Um… I'm sorry but I don't know any W-Winry… My name is…" she mumbled as her mind raced to find a typical German name. It had to be one she liked, at least a bit. After all, it would be her name from now on. "My name is… Nadine."

Yeah, she'd start a new beginning with a life with the Elrics in her life.

* * *

_A/N: So chapter 6 is done then hope you liked it :) I know Winry's reasoning is a bit strange, but we're not the ones looking at Ed that moment so yeah... Wikipedia is my friend. My friend said that Nadine is a german name in the early 19's, but I dont know since I'm not German. But I tried. _

_As for now you will have to get used to people calling Winry, Nadine now. I will try my best to keep calling her Winry normally and only have people call her 'Nadine' when they speak to her and stuff, but I can't assure you that I wont slip once in a while. But just try to figure it out yourself then, they won't call her Winry unless I make it clear that they do._

_So here is most of the plot made out, there will be some more in the next chapter, and then I'll try and make it flow a bit slower and make it kind of peaceful since Winry's not searching anymore. They will make some things together, but there will almost always be some hinting to their lives before Winry came, more about Ed and his apparant affection for hospitals and stuff like that. No I can't really say much about it now as I haven't written the chapters all the way over there, but I can tell you that they are just starting sort of. No no hard to explain, just wait for the next chapter(s). And the next chapter will be out someday... some time... I dont really know, I'm going to be busy with school (Or upper secondary school if you like, dunno what it's called xD) so I can't say how much time I get to write. But I'll do my best :D_

_I don't know, I just somehow **really** enjoy describing people, especially the bishies xD You'll get even more describing next chapter if you like that stuff :P_

_Well anyway thank you for reading and hopefully you'll leave review before you leave ;P_

__

Until next time

-Shirou hana_  
_

* * *


	7. Teas and Truths at the Elrics'

**Authors Note: **Hi folks! I'm back again after a long delay. For that I'm really sorry, but I've been busy with school for a long time, I might get more time as I start getting used to it, but for now the updates will possibly come pretty late. And also I'm a bit stuck, not quite the biggest problem since it's only a short piece of the chapter, but it's still enough to delay the chapters. But I'll try my best. But when it starts to get more exciting, I bet it will all just come naturally and easily, meaning the chapters might come faster too. But anyway we'll see.

For now I hope you'll find this chapter to your liking cause I didn't xD Nah jk, but it did take me a long time to write...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, nor do I own any of the characters of FMA. They all belong to Hiromu Arakawa.

**_Enjoy_**

* * *

_Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic_

_.:Alienized:.  
_

_Chapter 7 - Teas and Truths at the Elrics'  
_

--

"You want anything in your tea… Nadine?"

Winry shuddered. For several reasons to tell the truth. First was that she still hadn't gotten used to the fact that she would have to live with this name for what she figured would be the rest of her life. It was not that she didn't like the name, more that she didn't really like the thought of having Ed fall in love with another person, even if it _was_ herself.

The second reason was because of that expression her childhood friend, and secret love, wore. It was such an unfamiliar expression for her, especially on _his_ face. He looked so sad and confused. It was obvious that he still hadn't gotten over the shock after suddenly seeing Winry, whom he had been convinced, had been living on the other side of the gate, safe and sound the entire time. She could hear from when the edge of the kettle hit the rim of the cup that his hands were shaking slightly, she could hear the nozzle clink on the cup continuously as the result of his unsteady hands. His eyes were darker and even though he was concentrating on pouring the boiling water into the cup, it looked like he wasn't really looking anywhere at all at the moment. His lips were pressed tightly together and his eyebrows were slightly furrowed. She had never seen him like this and she somehow wished she hadn't. He just looked so hopeless, so sad so… hollow. The sight hurt her more than any cut or wound she had ever received or any lie she had ever been told.

And also the third reason was the rest of his body, or what she could make out through his clothes that is. But it was still enough to trigger her concern. His skin was very pale and a little clammy it seemed. Like he had been staying inside for too long or hadn't been very physically active. And he was so thin. He was so skinny it looked like he only ate two times a week and Winry almost felt sick to her stomach at the sight. Just what in the world had gotten wrong with him since he left their world? The way his eyes were glazed and his movements seemed slower and a tiny bit more struggled. The way he always coughed and the incident at the hospital. And the pills and now his skinny form, it was just too obvious to Winry that there was _something_ wrong with him. She didn't know what it was but she had to find out. From what she could make out from it and guess, it seemed bad.

She had to get into these boys' lives. Get to know them like "Nadine" and vice versa. She would ask them what was wrong with Ed and live a normal life with them, with no Philosopher's Stone, no alchemy and no military. Just the three of them living in peace. She was going to make sure of that. She was going to remove that awful expression from Ed's face, to make him put on some weight again and go back to the stunning person he once were. With this more matured appearance of his it couldn't be that hard anyway, she figured.

"Uhm yeah two spoonfuls of sugar please." She answered and looked at him as he met her gaze. She tried a cheerful smile and begged sincerely to whatever god that was looking over her, that he would return it if only just a little bit. It seemed her prayers was appeased as he smiled back at her, clearly not expecting a smile in that kind of situation and started to almost grin a bit meekly, his familiar and childish discomfort making Winry want to giggle.

He walked towards the table where she's been seated and placed a cup in front of her and took a seat on the other side of the table. Winry carefully took the cup and sipped on the tea. She watched as Ed quietly took the pills and swallowed them along with the water. He exhaled loudly, placed the cup back down on the table, leaned back in his chair and scratched his head absentmindedly. She wanted to smile at his so very familiar behavior, but decided against it since it would just make him feel uncomfortable.

"So… you're from a country named England right?" came his voice and Winry was forced out of her train of thoughts.

"Ye-Yeah." She replied and folded her hands under the table. She wasn't sure if England was the greatest place for an excuse, but that country and the neighbor countries to Germany were the only countries she knew of in this world, and she simply chose the one farthest away from Germany, just in case she got strange questions, she could always come with the excuse that it was foreign to her country.

"Haha great I've been there once you know. The capital city is enormous! So what town did you live in then?"

"Guh…" Winry choked. She really hadn't guessed Ed knew so much about the countries outside Germany. Of course he knew a lot more about England than she did. Just how in the world was she supposed to trick him now?! "I uh… I'm uh, well you see… I'm from the country so I really don't live any close to a town…. Hehe…" she said and scratched her neck. _"Nice work Winry! That was so lame!"_ she scolded. _"He's never gonna fall for that!"_

But quite to the contrary…

"Ah uh alright I see. Well, then I guess that explains why you know so little of this country huh?" Ed said and put a hand behind his head while chuckling. Winry was to say, quite surprised that he just let her go so easily or just act so ignoratly, until a certain amount of comprehension dawned on her. _"He really hasn't changed all that much, at least not in personality."_ Winry thought to herself with a smile. There certainly still was his thick skull to penetrate in order to let sense flow into it.

"Y-Yeah…" Winry muttered.

They just sat there for a while in silence, neither of them quite knowing what to say to the other.

Just then noise came from the stairway, causing the two young adults to look up.

"Oh hey Brother you're already home? How was your day? Oh, and we have a visitor? Care to intro-" he rambled on, but stopped abruptly when he got a closer look on the visitor. Winry recognized the expression that appeared on his face as a mild version of the one Ed had just worn and she felt bad all over again.

"W-Winry? Winry is that yo-"

"Al, this is Nadine, Nadine this is Al, my little brother. Nadine comes from England, she's kind of a traveler." Ed interrupted and plastered a cheerful smile upon his otherwise solemn face. Al thought for a moment and then smiled and looked at Winry. She could sense some reluctance in the smile though.

"Oh I see. It seems you got to see the good side of my brother. Believe me, it's almost a miracle to see him actually inviting someone inside instead of just scaring them all away." Al said and laughed, successfully receiving a hard glare from his older brother. Al just brushed it off.

"So Nadine do you have a home anywhere?"

"Yes, I live with a small family a few kilometers away." she said and frowned a bit.

"Well that's good isn't it? Then why do you look so distraught?" Ed asked her with a raised eyebrow. He looked at her as he downed the rest of the contents in the glass.

Winry sighed. "I'm just afraid they're having problems with having me live there since their so poor. They keep telling me it's no problem, but they already have problems with feeding themselves so another mouth to feed, and one who can't even help with the income.. I just feel so wasteful. They're such good people, but…" Winry said and slumped her shoulders and sighed. This was putting her in a bad mood. She had just met Ed at last, but things weren't turning out the way she wanted them to and thinking about her wastefulness towards the Schneiders wasn't helping much.

Ed and Al exchanged glances and Al spoke up.

"If you really feel that way, why don't you just come live with us here, Nadine? We're not rich, but Brother has a pretty stable job so I'm sure we can afford to have one more living here. Right Brother?"

"Sure."

"Besides, we could really need a woman in the house. Brother is your typical bachelor and he always leaves the house in a mess. Of course, since I have no job, I'm left with the cleaning. Haha, I feel like a housewife sometimes. And don't even get me started on his **cooking**." Al said and laughed. Winry joined happily, all too well knowing Ed's messiness and horrible (not to mention, harmful to health) cooking.

"Oh well **excuse** me for being a **guy**!" Ed snorted and crossed his arms.

But Winry kept laughing. It felt good. She had missed laughing like this and being accompanied by Al was only making it better. Yeah, and Ed being the victim made it the best day in a too long time. Suddenly she couldn't wait until she would come live with them. Just the three of them like the old days.

As they slowly ceased laughing and Ed's scowl slowly, but steadily diminished, Winry started to get up from her chair. "Will it be alright if I go and pick up my stuff at once and then return here? They say it's going to rain tomorrow."

"Of course. Want one of us to accompany you on the way?" Al chuckled and grinned. Oh how Winry had missed that boyish smile.

"Nah it's alright, I think I need a walk for myself. Besides, Ed looks pretty smashed and it looks like a nap would do him good." Winry said with a smile and headed for the door.

"Wait, how do you know my name?"

She stopped and turned around, scratching the back of her head. "Well, you told me earlier didn't you?" she said and with a wave, she exited the door. "_Crud, crud, crud!"_

Al looked at his older brother who was scratching his noggin.

"So I guess we just found this world's replica of Winry, huh?" he said and smiled.

"Yeah, guess so…" Ed muttered. He felt his eyes go droopy and rubbed one of them with his flesh hand. He noticed Al looking at him. "What is it?"

"Brother I think Wi-Nadine was right. You really do look tired. You should go rest. Remember what the doctor said, you shouldn't hesitate to rest whenever you feel the slightest tired. " he said and Ed visibly sighed. It wasn't like he didn't notice the look that appeared in his little brother's eyes every time they spoke of his sickness. Dear God, why did it have to hurt his little brother too?

"Al seriously I'm-"

"Brother, just go to bed already. I'll start making dinner soon; I bet we'll have a guest accompanying us tonight." Al said with a wide grin and his older brother sighed in defeat and chuckled.

"Fine I'll go upstairs. Night Al."

"Sleep well Brother."

Ed turned, ruffled his brother's short hair and went upstairs and into his room. He stripped down to his boxers and crawled into his small, warm bed. Just before sleep filled him entirely, a thought passed his mind.

"_I…never told her my name…"_

* * *

_A/N: So that's it for this time guys, hope you enjoyed Next chapter will be called **Welcome Home, Nadine**, and will come out in (beeep) days...  
_

_ Anyway__ thank you for reading and hopefully you'll leave review before you leave ;P_

__

Until next time

-Shirou hana_  
_


	8. Welcome Home, Nadine

**Author's Note:** Hi guys I'm still alive! I have to say I am truly and utterly sorry and I will gladly bow my head to take all the beating you have in store for me for being so awfully late. But I'll use the default excuse: School is killing me! So much homework xx I know everyone uses that excuse, but that doesn't make it any less true... And also there's been a lot on my mind, two of my old classmates have died with just two weeks interval and it's pretty hard too.

**But!** I didn't come here to ask for sympathy! I come to present the new and eighth chapter of **Alienized**, the chapter you've all so wonderfully patiently waited for! I hope not too many have already given up on this story.The updates might continue to come pretty late, but not as late as this one, I hope not...

I pretty much think this chapter came out very nicely, much of the previous chapters have mostly been some introduction for the real story, now Winry is Nadine and we'll have to make you guys accept it and get used to it. Because **Ed has not figured out Winry yet!** He had a hunch, but not enough to make him believe it, plus he was pretty tired so he might not even remember when he wakes up. But this is the last 'introduction chapter', after that I'll try to write more of the plot I planned at the beginning. But you'll still have to excuse me, it's the first time I've planned a story this much, but it actually is a great help.

I'm still in need of a beta-reader so there are surely a lot of errors, but I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, nor do I own any of the characters of FMA. They all belong to Hiromu Arakawa.

**_Enjoy_**

* * *

_Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic_

_.:Alienized:.  
_

_Chapter 8 - Welcome Home, Nadine  
_

--

Winry practically ran back to the Schneider residence. She was so excited to come live with the Elrics'. For the first time since she saw them, she was hit with the full impact of her luck and she was so close to crying in happiness. When she entered the house everyone greeted her, asking her where she had been all this time and then she told them the whole story.

Mrs. Schneider looked very happy for Winry, but Christin looked quite sad at the thought of her 'big sister' leaving. And also leaving to live with two **boys**! According to Christin that wasn't something proper for a pretty girl to do. Winry just chuckled and patted the small girl on the head. Oh, how she reminded her of Elysia.

Winry went upstairs and packed her belongings and went back down, the whole family there to bid her farewell. Winry believed she might have shed a few tears at that time. She received hugs from everyone, and small necklace with a charm from Christin and a few encouraging words from Mr. Schneider and that same knowing look from Mrs. Schneider, she had seen it before from Trisha. Just how smart were these grown up people?

As she made it down the street, on her way back to the Elric's residence, she took a last glance back at the house she'd been living in for the last month and a half, and silently thanked the family living there again for taking her in and aiding her in her search.

Back at the Elric's she wasn't really sure whether to knock on the door or not. She decided to knock though, seeing as even though Winry knew both Ed and Al very well, they didn't assume her to be so bold.

It didn't take long before she heard an "I'm coming!" being yelled from the other side of the door. Soon the slim brown door was opened to a rare sight. An apron clad Alphonse. Though Winry would be more surprised to see Ed wearing an apron it still was quite new to see Al as a 15 year old to wear such a thing. She assumed he had started making dinner and the good smell emerging from the door did nothing to weaken that assumption.

"Oh hello Nadine." Al greeted and beamed. He showed her inside. "You're just in time to join us. You haven't eaten yet have you?"

"No I'd be happy to join you." Winry said cheerfully and smiled at the young Elric, who soon after returned to the stove.

"Please just make yourself comfortable. Seat yourself somewhere until the food is ready if you like." Al said from the kitchen and Winry decided to sit down on the couch.

"Uhm, Mister Elric? Al was it?" she called, remembering not to know more of their names than they had told her.

"Yeah Alphonse Elric. My older brother's name is Edward Elric."

"Uh yeah I just wanted to know if it was alright to look a bit around the house for a while." She said and somehow she felt a bit humble, but after all she was going to live with them, so she thought it might be alright, at least to ask.

"Sure go ahead. I'll show you your room after dinner, but feel free to look around." The young Elric called from the kitchen.

Winry made it two steps up the stairs until Al called again.

"Oh by the way, Brother's asleep, so please be quiet."

Winry nodded even though she knew he couldn't see it. She just didn't want to yell, afraid to wake Ed. And also know what kind of morning person he was when he was woken forcefully.

Upstairs there were a small hall; quite similar to the one Trisha lived in only slightly bigger with about two extra rooms. There were no signs on the doors so she didn't really know where they went. She tried one door. The setting sun was giving everything an orange and red shade. It looked like some sort of research room with papers and glasses littering both table and floor. There were various contraptions standing in the corners as well. Considering Ed being a scientist in this world she figured it might be his small workshop or research lab. She carefully closed the door again and tried another door. The room was again filled with an orange light, the room here not really filled with anything else than a bed, a night table, a table, a chair, a small drawer and a window with drapes. It seemed unoccupied and Winry figured it might be the room she would stay in. Not all that bad she thought. Again she closed the door and went to another room. This was the one at the end of the hall. She opened the door and was met by an unusual darkness in the room. There was almost no light coming through the window, which she found was covered by drapes. The room itself looked pretty much the same as her own, only in this there were books scattered around the floor and other various things showing that there was living someone here. A light breathing coming from the corner of the room told her where the occupier of the room was and her attention led to the place where the sound came from.

Winry smiled. So he did take her advice to heart after all.

The older Elric was sleeping soundly on his side, the faint orange sunlight flowing through the drapes making the automail shine healthily. She found his clothes spread across the floor in front of his bed and she skillfully navigated past them without stumbling and found herself beside his bed. She crouched down and took a closer look at him. His hair was let down and spread across the pillow like was it unaffected by gravity. His powerful golden eyes were hidden by dark lids and thick lashes and a strange reddening was spread across his cheeks and over the bridge of his nose. His mouth was half agape and his teeth clenched, slightly visible behind his dry lips. His skin was a little shiny, and it didn't look all that healthy. His jawbones had, in the two years he had been away, become sharper and more mature, giving him the face fitting to an 18 year old young man. She would have found herself blushing from his lack of a shirt if she hadn't seen him shirtless countless times, though still his toned chest didn't become less impressive because of that. But the missing shirt also gave her an even better sight of his skinniness and it made her heart wrench. His collarbone was sticking out like an ugly contrast to his otherwise perfect skin and his arms didn't seem to be much thicker than her own arms. It surprised her how he could even still have visible muscles with that thin body of his.

She carefully leaned forward, brushed a few golden locks away from his forehead and placed her palm on it. She pulled it back a short while after trying to contain her from yelping in surprise as his forehead practically burned her hand. So he was sick after all. She had been right after all. That explained his coughing and the clamminess of his skin. Only, that didn't explain his drastic weight loss. But still he was running a fever that much was obvious.

She went out of the room again and down in the kitchen to tell Al the news.

"Alphonse did you know your brother is running a bad fever?" she asked carefully, not really knowing how he'd react to that topic, seeing that he was always worrying over his brother.

"Yeah I do." He said and sighed. He kept looking into the stew with a strange look in his eyes. One she had never before, like he knew something, but held it in. He sighed sadly. "Brother's always pushing himself, but he knows it always ends up with him being exhausted and sleeping for hours."

"Why don't you go to a doctor then? It looks pretty bad you know."

"We have already done that, but the doctor can't do anything. He'll just have to sweat it out I guess." Al said and took the stew off the stove. "Nadine could you please go and try wake Ed? Ask him if he can stomach some stew. Stew is his favorite dish you see."

Winry nodded. "Sure I'll go try." She said and went back up the stairs and into the dark room. The older Elric was still asleep in the same position as before only that his head had squirmed a bit under her cool hand on his forehead earlier and was facing upwards now. She followed the same path past his clothes and found herself next to his bed again. She carefully placed her hand on his bony shoulder and shook it a bit, shaking his head in the process. First there was no reaction so she tried again a bit harder. This time his brows furrowed and his mouth scowled.

"Mmh not now Al, lemme sleep..." He mumbled and tried to jerk her hand off his shoulder. When he didn't succeed and the shaking didn't cease, his golden eyes opened to thin slits, the faint light making them dazzle through the darkness in the room. He looked up at Winry and it took an amusingly long while until comprehension dawned on him.

"Win…Winry…" he mumbled sleepily. After another while he spoke again, sense seeming to come a little more to him. "Oh, Nadine. Nadine…Why're you here?"

"Alphonse asked me to wake you. Dinner's ready, do you think you can stomach some stew?" she asked and found herself talking strangely sweetly to him. It was kind of new to her to talk like that to him, but she liked it somehow.

He blinked sleepily and propped himself up on his elbows. His hair was sticking out in all directions even though it had looked like it was flowing in water barely a few minutes ago.

"Well if its stew I guess I might." He said and started to get up. "Just give me a minute to throw some water in my face and get dressed."

"Need help getting up?" she asked when he wobbled a bit as he started to stand.

"Nah, I'm good." He said and stood up. He pulled his clothing up from the floor. He looked at Winry. "You don't seem to be all that much affected by my obvious lack of clothing, and even more surprising, my arm and leg." He said as he motioned with his arm at his two metallic prosthetics.

"Oh well, I find things such as automail fascinating. It doesn't really affect me all that much. By the way, how did it happen?"

"What?" he asked and stepped into his black pants while still looking at her.

"I mean how did it happen? How did you lose your arm and leg?" she asked, careful not to say too much and blow her cover.

"A car accident." He simply said and returned his focus on dressing himself. He was closing his vest by now and began looking for his hair tie. After a while of fruitless search, Winry spoke up.

"You don't need to tie your hair, it's nothing fancy. Besides I just saw you practically wearing nothing so it can't be much worse can it?" Winry said and winked and smiled.

"Haha, can't be all that bad can it now?" he said and exited the room with Winry right behind him.

"Well if you cared to put on some weight then no, it wouldn't, but you're quite the skinny one." Winry said and looked him in the eye as he turned around to open the door to what she figured would be the bathroom. He had that same look in his eyes as Al had just a few minutes ago. Then he looked at Winry again and smirked if not a bit mischievously at her.

"I'm afraid I won't let you proceed any further than this Miss." He said as he stood in the door to the bathroom, leaning on the doorframe.

Winry thought and blushed before trying a smart remark before returning back downstairs.

"So it wasn't just water in your face, eh?" she said.

"Ha ha…" he laughed, trying to sound unamused, but still smirking all the while. He closed the door without saying anything else.

Winry went back down and found Al making the table.

"Need any help?"

"Sure, if you can get me three glasses please." He said and placed the stew on the table.

Winry did as told and they sat down, waiting for the last member of the household to join them. He came soon after and sat down next to Winry.

"Yay stew!" the elder Elric exclaimed and reached out for the pot.

"You already knew we would have stew tonight Brother." Al sighed.

"That doesn't make it any less great, now does it?" Ed said and took a bite, clearly enjoying it.

Al chuckled. "No I guess not." He said and took Winry's plate and filled it before taking a portion for himself as well. "Oh Brother, you've let your hair down! Why do you never do that? It looks so nice when it's not tied up like it always is."

"Cuz I never feel like it that's why. And because it looks stupid." Ed said nonchalantly and continued stuffing his face with his favorite dish.

Winry just sat in silence and watched them chat and bicker as they always did. She smiled.

Finally, after two and a half months she was truly home.

* * *

_A/N: That's all for now, hope you liked it. I know chapter wasn't very long, but there wasn't very much to add into it. Next chapter might be longer, it wil be out soon and be called **'Rainy Days'**._

_Thank you for reading and for being so patient. Please remember to review so I know what you think about it and so I know what could be better._

_Until next time_

_-Shirou Hana  
_


	9. Rain, Rain, Rain

**Author's Note:** I realize I've been very late on this and I'm so sorry TT_TT I'vebeenbusydon'thitme? But here's a long chapter for you :)

After taking a look at my poll in my profile I have discovered that people seem to prefer seeing** The Sightless Alchemist** getting updated than this, so the table turn and this story comes in second priority. Sorry if you disagree, but then you'll have to go to the poll and change my mind, I'm only doing what my readers want me to..

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any characters, they all belong to Hiromu Arakawa.

_**Enjoy.

* * *

  
**_

_Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic_

_.:Alienized:.  
_

_Chapter 9 - Rain, Rain, Rain  
_

--

The sun came later than usual.

Winry didn't notice it was morning before it was already about nine in the morning. Fall was approaching rapidly it seemed, whoop-de-doo really, the most boring season of them all. Winry frowned at the thought. Or at least she wanted to, but not that day. This was the first morning where she woke up in the two Elric brother's house and frankly she couldn't be more happy. Her dream had finally come true after all that time, they were all together again. Or maybe not entirely, Winry's little stunt had made them believe that she wasn't Winry, but she didn't regret doing so. Just seeing their sad faces when they thought Winry had given up everything to be with them was enough to change her mind. So this would do, and it was enough, too. She could relish in their company just fine being 'Nadine'. And the two brothers hadn't changed as much as she'd feared, they were still Ed and Al and to her, they were still her best friends.

Winry got up from her bed and got dressed. She didn't really have that much clothing since her departure from Amestris was to say a little hasty, but at least there were enough to choose between one or two once in a while. Though the clothes in this world **could** use some color.

The house was quite dormant in the morning. Not much of a surprise though, she had learned that, just like his older brother, Al loved to sleep in. Besides it was weekend anyway so it wasn't all that unreasonable.

Winry made it down the stairs and into the living room and as assumed found it empty. Maybe she should treat them, as a sign of appreciation for taking her in. She could make them some good breakfast, they would no doubt be happy about that, Winry thought with a smile. And besides, lots of good food would probably help Ed gaining some weight.

She checked the fridge. Eggs, bacon, cheese, some sausages and various greens. The cupboards were filled with a few different types of bread, coffee, tea, flour sugar etc. The stable job Al had been talking about might not make them rich, but it still looked like they had enough to provide for a family of two and perhaps also one more. The thought made Winry wonder what kind of job Ed had. The only thing she knew he was really good at was alchemy and that was pretty much out of the picture it seemed, as she had found that alchemy was not prioritized over machines and steam engines. Sure he was a genius and all, she had gotten that confirmed several times when he proved his imposing intelligence, when he could figure out complex equations and read difficult books, but that was all alchemy, what would he do in this world?

Winry just pushed the thought aside, she was living with them now, it would be kind of odd if she didn't figure out what his occupation was.

So she went to the lower cupboards and pulled out a frying pan. First came breakfast.

--

Just as she was starting on the bacon, a pair of feet sounded descending the stairs. "_Definitely not Ed. He'd be dragging his feet down the stairs at this time."_ Winry thought with a chuckle. That dummy was just **not** a morning person.

As she had assumed it was in fact not a grumpy, flaxen haired chibi who came down the wooden stairs, but instead said chibi's younger brother who was surprisingly fresh considering he had probably just woken up. He rubbed his eyes and looked up to see Winry cooking in the kitchen and flashed a toothy grin.

"Oh, Nadine, you sure are early this morning. Are you always up this early?" the youngest Elric asked and went to watch Winry as she cooked. "Mm, looks great."

"Well, first no I am definitely not an early riser and second, it's actually ten in the morning already so technically it's not really all that early. Guess we're just all late risers then." Winry said with a smile and looked down at Alphonse. The bacon seemed to be hit by a devil at that instant and squirted a few drops of hot fat up on Winry's hand while she was turning them.

"Ah! Owie!" she wailed and rubbed her hand. Alphonse noticed it all and grabbed the spatula from her with a bright smile.

"Why don't you just go upstairs and get Brother. I'll finish this up and put it on the table. This is the reason why Brother and I rarely eat things such as bacon, they sprout up at you and it hurts, such meanie things." Al said and smiled at Winry, who returned the smile and went to the stairs to get the older Elric.

She carefully made it down to the far end of the small hall and opened the door to the room she recalled as Edward's room. But when she opened the wooden door she was met with a whole lot more light than the last time she had visited the 18 year old Elric's room. Her eyes first wandered to the window to see the drapes removed and light escaping through the big window, then to the bed in the end of the room, which Winry was surprised to find unoccupied. For an instance she wanted to go and pull the covers away just to see if he was hiding, but her senses changed her mind. Ed was never one to hide like that. That had always been Al. She chuckled. Didn't always go well with Ed's temper in those days.

Winry exited the room, on her way to ask if Al had seen his brother, when she heard a cough on the other side of the door closest to the staircase. She recognized it as the research room she had seen the other day. Hesitant she opened the door as quietly as she could.

Inside there was as big a mess as the last time she looked, although this time a figure was sitting on the chair in front of the desk. Even more books (if that was even possible) was placed in big piles on the table and a few test tubes and flasks was placed in stands in front of the many books, all filled with various liquids in different colors and powders and metals spread around the stands. The figure, who was easily recognized as Edward, was sitting with one of the test tubes in his hand and shaking it carefully while taking notes in one of the thick books. His hair was not tied in his usual ponytail nor his infamous braid, a hair tie was merely tied around the three last inches of his golden hair tying it loosely together and keeping it away from the face. He had a pencil behind one of his ears and well, making him look comically like some sort of librarian, he just needed a pair of glasses. He was wearing his black pants and a white starched shirt. He looked a bit like he has practically stumbled out of the bed and into his research room.

Winry would have chuckled at the nostalgia if it wasn't for the fact that she always got enchanted by watching him so absorbed in his research. It wasn't like it was the first time she saw him like this. She merely thought there wouldn't be anything he would be so engulfed by other than alchemy.

She carefully and silently moved across the room next to him. Then she just stood there and silently watched as the young Elric placed the test tube back down on the stand and wrote some more. Winry became even more interested as he began sprinkling small metallic flakes into one of the liquids. He then returned to one of the books and read it while shaking the test tube in his hand and wrote down notes as the liquid began bubbling. It was exciting to watch, but Winry found herself being more enthused with watching his concentrated golden eyes as they repeatedly scanned over his work, only blinking as little as possible as if not to miss a thing than the actual work he was doing.

It was only when Ed coughed again that Winry was awoken from her stupor and her breath caught in her throat, making Ed flinch as that was the first sound Winry made the entire time. He looked alarmed up at her.

"N-Nadine! What are you doing here? When did you come in?" he asked, while holding a hand to his chest right above his heart, visibly showing his surprise. He began to absentmindedly twirl his pen between his fingers as he kept his gaze fixed on her.

"Well I uh.. Al's downstairs preparing breakfast and he asked if I would go and wake you up. But you weren't in your room so I went looking for you. But it looked so interesting with all the liquids and stuff I couldn't help but watch. I'm sorry if I startled you."

"Oh.. no, not at all." he said and glanced back down at his notes. He let go of the pen and instead began rolling the corner of a blueprint between his fingers.

"So, what were you doing just now. Looks pretty complicated." Winry said and took a good look at all his papers, blueprints, books, test tubes, liquids, various powders, metal flakes and small metal scraps. Even the glass of crystal clear water behind two thick books. Without thinking and only reacting on sheer curiosity, she gingerly poked a white crystal like powder in a petri dish. Ed abruptly interrupted her poking by slapping her hand lightly.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you. That's nitroguanidine, it's poisonous and can make you deadly sick." he said with a frighteningly nonchalant voice, though still serious. Winry immediately pulled her hand back with a frightened look on her face. "Don't worry, that little poke can't kill you. But it's still a pretty bad idea. That's why I use _this_ to move it around." he said and held a pair of tweezers in front of her. "This stuff is for my research. As you might already know, I'm a rocket scientist. I started learning about it two years ago with my friend Alfons from a professor at Munich University. Alfons and I wanted to make space ships and travel into space, that was my goal then." he explained and began fiddling with the test tubes at his left side. "I still try to create space ships, it's way more interesting than trying to make faster cars or airplanes for war and whatnot. I work at a kind of factory where they try to create space ships. We've made small ones, but it takes a lot of work to make it possible for people to fly it. Though I'm not really the most effective handyman they need my knowledge of elements and stuff like that. You could say that they buy knowledge from me, but on second thought don't do that, it makes me sound like some sort of vending machine." Ed chuckled at that point, but continued. "These liquids and powders are for my current research. I'm trying to develop a more powerful fuel for the engine. 'S kinda hard though... You keep thinking you could just add some more stuff into the original fuel, but that only makes it more explosive, but I'd still have to use hydrocarbon as nonpolar solvent, petroleum as the base... But adding nitroguanidine will perhaps just make it detonate too quickly..." Ed began muttering and Winry had jumped off the wagon a long time ago. She decided to make that clear before he got too much into it. **(A/N: I'm in deep here with Ed's muttering there. He's way smarter than I am, but don't think about it too much. Basically I just tried to make Ed sound as clever as possible and say things we don't understand, but I just know too little about it to make that happen.. :P)**

"Eh, I don't understand one bit of what you're saying." Winry laughed

Ed joined her laughter fondly. "Well, I wouldn't expect you to anyway, it has taken me years to get to where I am now. A few minutes of explaining wouldn't be nearly enough to get it all. But anyway, you said Al had made breakfast, right?" Ed asked and received a nod before continuing. "Well I don't know about you, but I'm starving." He said and got up from his chair.

Winry chuckled and followed him out through the door, when thought hit her. "Hey Ed, how are you feeling? You were pretty sick last night, are you sure you're well enough to be up and around?"

Ed turned his head and looked at her before flashing a cheerful smile at her. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just something that comes and goes. I don't know, maybe it's because the weather's turning colder. I heard the flu is going around, too." he said and looked ahead as he descended the stairs. When they entered the kitchen the table had been made and Al was still in the kitchen. Ed strode towards his little brother with his nose in front of him and then ending up beside the youngest Elric. He sniffed the air and smiled.

"Smells good Al, did you wake up just to do all this?" Ed sounded a bit impressed as he was obviously acquainted with his brother's morning habits in the weekends.

But Al shook his head and grinned meekly. "No, Brother, I wasn't the one doing all this, it was Nadine." Ed looked at the blonde girl surprised and with a look of subtle appreciation on his bright face. He did look a lot better than yesterday, maybe a good nights sleep had helped him come around.

"Huh? Nadine did all this? Thats great, but you really didn't have go through all that trouble just for us." Ed said and turned around so he was leaning against the counter, this time is was Ed's turn to smile meekly.

Winry blushed lightly and smiled. "No it's nothing, I just felt I had to do something to show my appreciation for you taking me in. It's really more you that goes through all the trouble." Winry muttered embarrassedly.

Ed laughed. "Well I don't care, you make us food so I'd call it a win-win situation." he said and went to sit at the table. He put his head on his hand and gazed out the window with a bored look. It was first when Winry and Al accompanied him that he spoke up.

"What a sucky weather..." he mumbled and sighed.

"Why do you have to be so negative all the time Brother? Fall is approaching, it's no wonder its bad weather, and besides, I like rain." Al said and Ed flinched at his words and let his forehead connect with the hard wood on the table and a groan emerged from the mess of blonde hair. "Don't do that here at the table when there's food Brother you'll shed in it!" Al complained and received a glare from his older brother.

"Humans don't shed."

"Well you do Brother. You're shedding like a little doggy!" Al laughed and pointed at Ed who pretty much began to act like he always did.

"The hell I don't! AND DON'T CALL ME SMALL!"

"Oh look there's a hair."

"That's your hair you idiot!"

"No, my hair is short and brown, **this** is long and golden." Al exclaimed fondly and held out the offended hair in the air.

"Why you- Oh look what I found, a short hair!"

"Brother you're not even holding a hair..."

"Uh, guys...?" Winry tried carefully.

"What!?" Ed exclaimed and Winry jumped. She pointed at the food on the table.

"Shouldn't we eat? I mean before it gets too cold..."

"Oh yeah you're right, I totally forgot because of Brother shedding hair all over." Al said and raised his index finger in surprise.

"I didn't sh-!"

"So lets just dig in!" Winry cut off the loud blonde and began to fill his plate for him, seeing as he was too busy yelling to manage to feed himself.

"But he-!"

"Brother just be quiet and eat."

Grumbling Ed obeyed and quieted down enough to eat and the other two joined him immediately.

After that the breakfast went on quietly and peacefully, the only sounds was the tinkering of the cutlery and occasional comments, all dulled by the rain, constantly pattering against the window.

Winry observed the two brothers as they sat by the table and enjoyed their morning together. It was so peaceful she just wanted to stop eating, put her head in her hands and just look at them. She sometimes wondered how one could love his brother so much, so infinitely, so immeasurably, and so boundlessly. She had always admired the two brothers for that. That was their drive, their goal and their reward and they demanded nothing else. That was the beauty of brotherly love and there was nothing corny in that. She just sometimes wished there was someone who would love her the way they did each other. But that was when they both looked at her and smiled, and even though Ed also exclaimed a perky remark, it warmed her heart. They still smiled at her the same way they always had, even though they believed she was another person. She figured, and hoped, that that smile would never change. That was her proof that she belonged somewhere.

Her thoughts were cut off by Al raising his voice effectively and easily breaking the comfortable silence. He looked at his older brother excitedly.

"Brother, now that we're all about done eating why don't we-" Al exclaimed, but was cut off by his brother's drawling words ending his sentence.

"Go outside and catch ourselves a cold?"

Al sighed. "Brother why are you so negative? Why don't we go outside in the rain and **don't** catch a cold and have good time. Say that instead Brother." Al said and stood from his chair, still looking at the older Elric.

"Go outside and catch a cold and a have a bad time..." Ed said and put his head on his hand while giving his younger brother a bored glare.

"Nonoo Brother...! It's fun, you always come with me, this time we can bring Nadine too."

"What, so she can get drenched too? Al, seriously I don't see how standing outside in the rain, getting all wet can be referred to as "fun". We're not going outside."

"But Brother-"

"No Al we're not going outside and thats final." Ed said and turned his head away from his brother. It didn't take long for him to direct his gaze at the younger Elric, still with his head turned away. Al's head was bowed down and he looked up at his brother, giving him the best doggy eyes he could manage.

The older Elric sighed, glancing at Winry, obviously asking her for some backup, but he just him her most innocent smile, really not wanting to butt in. Ed finally turned his gaze at his brother while scratching the back of his head.

"Damn I'm just **too nice**..." he grumbled and Al jumped in the air.

"Yaay thank you Brother!" he exclaimed happily and went to hug his brother.

"No hugging you dummy." Ed said and stood up as well, Winry following him in tow shortly after. "Just get your coat on."

"But Brother, I don't wanna wear a coat, I won't be able to feel the rain that way." Al said and pouted.

"No buts Al I'm not gonna let you get sick and I'm not going to be fussing around you if you do get sick. Get your coat on."

"But Brother, then I-"

"I already said no buts Al. I agreed with going outside with you, but I wont agree with you going out with no coat on, now get that friggin' coat on!" Ed demanded and it was clear to see that there was no way to make him change his mind. Al had obviously also noticed that and sighed in defeat.

"Okay Brother I'll put on the coat, but I wont fuss around you either then." Al said and stuck out his tongue at his brother. Ed just smiled headed towards the coat rack, knowing all too well that he didn't mean that.

"Of course you won't Al. Hey Nadine you wanna go outside and catch a cold, too?" Ed asked the female still standing by the table with Al, successfully receiving a glare and a protest from his younger brother.

"Uh, sure," she agreed and went to accompany Ed by the coat rack. He grabbed a long red one with the infamous black Flamel on the back and threw it at his brother, who got his whole face covered by the red cloth as he failed to catch it in the air. Ed let out an amused snort of some sort, making Winry want to laugh more of him than Al. Then he proceeded to his own brown one and looked at it for a short while before throwing it at Winry, who also got her face covered by the thick brown cloth. She faintly noticed that it smelled of him.

"Wear mine Nadine, I don't want it on my conscience if you end up getting sick."

"What about you then?" Winry asked as she stepped a bit closer to him, followed by Alphonse who had just put his own coat on and looked up at Edward with worry evident in his eyes.

"Would you stop looking at me like that? I'll be fine in that short time we're going out, and besides I bet I'll probably end up in bed the whole day tomorrow anyway, so it won't make any difference."

Al looked at his brother and sighed before grinning and knocking the blonde on the head with a knuckle. "If you say so Brother, but then **you'll** do the dishes when we come back. And please don't push yourself."

"I won't. H-Hey! Why do I have to do the dishes!? That makes no sense, **I'm** the one going out in the rain with **you**!" Hey are you even-!" Edward yelled, but was cut off when Winry poked his shoulder and pointed at the open front door. There was definitely no Al in sight.

"That little-!" Ed growled and went outside as well. Winry stood a few seconds on the other side of the door and looked out. Ed was already completely soaked as he turned around and made a gesture for her to follow. He was definitely not letting her just stand there with his coat on while he was outside getting soaked because of her.

"Come on out you wuss." he laughed and received a glare from Winry. No matter how much she was going to act like she didn't know them, she was not letting him get away with calling her a wuss.

"I'm not a wuss!" she yelled through the rain and ran out to him. It didn't take long for her to get drenched either. They stood there a while in silence not looking anywhere in particular. Winry was just enjoying Ed's company and she could only hope he was doing the same. She felt a huge urge to hold his hand all of a sudden. It just felt right that moment and it was right there beside hers. Her hand twitched, demanding contact, but her mind stopped it before it got any further than brushing his left, making it seem like an accident. He looked at her and grinned when he found her cheeks getting flushed and her eyes strayed from his.

"My brother's a weirdo sometimes. You'll have to excuse him. I don't know why, but every time when it rains he want to go outside and feel the rain on his skin." Ed said and successfully broke the silence. In Winry's opinion it hadn't been necessary at all, the silence was comfortable and calming. But seeing as she had somehow come to like practically everything about the blonde next to her in a very short time, she had also developed a strong fondness of his voice. Strong, confident, but still soft and honey coated like his hair. So a conversation was also in order she decided.

Winry laughed. "I don't mind really. We all have something we like, and apparently it seems to be that your brother enjoys getting himself wet in the rain. Besides, I kind of like the way it feels on my skin, too."

"Yeah... It washes you cleaner than any bath can. It's refreshing" Ed said and looked up. "My brothers he's... he's... he's just a weirdo sometimes..." Ed said and chuckled, but Winry could hear that wasn't what he had on his mind.

"Yeah... " she just replied, going for the comfortable silence again. Ed seemed to silently agree and again they just stood there. And the urge came again Winry irritably noticed.

"Oh hey Edward, what are you doing out here in the rain? Is it that little brother of yours again?" a voice suddenly sounded at their right.

Ed had answered before Winry got a good enough look at the person to recognize it.

"Oh hey Mr. Breda. Yeah Al insisted that we went out in this shitty weather and... you know how it ends.." Ed said and grinned. He coughed a few times, but the man didn't seem to pay much mind to it other than furrowing his eyebrows a bit.

Winry looked on as Ed spoke with the broad man in front of them. Winry couldn't really say that she knew him, but he did seem familiar and the name Breda did ring a bell somehow. She was pretty sure he was one of Ed's old colleagues in the military. Though of course this Breda wasn't the real thing.

"Hey by the way, who is this young lady standing there?" Breda asked and took a better look at Winry who almost squirmed under his gaze. Ed looked in her direction and grinned.

"This is Nadine. She moved in with us yesterday. She comes from England and moved to Germany recently. The family she lived with before couldn't provide for an extra person, so Al and I, being the extremely kind and giving people, took her in."

Winry didn't miss the amused look on Breda's face at the 'kind and giving' part and she guessed it might be that Ed wasn't one you'd immediately put in the category of 'kind and giving', even though if you knew him well enough you'd learn that he was more than just kind and giving. But hearing him say it just like that, did make the idea sound quite amusing, she had to admit.

"It seems you've got your hands full then. Maybe your life needed some freshening up or some relaxing time. I never see you much outside anymore aside from when you're going to work."

"Well we **are** pretty busy at the factory, they keep bugging me about that rocket fuel." Ed replied and sighed, his shoulders visibly slumping.

"They're **still** going on about that?

Edward nodded. "Yup, though you'd figure they'd know by now that it doesn't help me think when they keep bugging me. I can't really do much though, not when they allow me to have that many sick days." he said with a sad grin and shrugged it off like anything else. "So where are you going by the way? I couldn't imagine this to be the best weather for a stroll, excluding my brother of course."

"I'm getting some medicine for my friend. It seems everybody gets sick at the moment, maybe it's the flu. My neighbors have three who are sick and then there's my friend and my mother. You're sick too aren't you?"

Ed's eyes widened for a moment before he plastered a big grin on his face. He sniffled a bit as if to prove a point. "Hah yeah looks like it. Al has obviously not considered that I might even get worse out here, but maybe it's just me being too nice all the time." he said and chuckled. Breda joined him at that. They looked at each other fondly.

"Well anyway I'll have to go now. It was nice talking to you Ed, and nice to meet you Nadine. I'll see you some other time." Breda said after he had looked at his watch. He waved at Ed and Winry.

"Yeah, bye." Edward replied and gave a small wave in return before crossing his arms and looking to his right, far into the distance. He wore a strange expression at that moment, Winry noticed. Distant and longing and with a flash of regret and hesitation, and perhaps a bit of sadness as well. She had never seen such an expression on his face before. But if it somehow sadly fitted with the new sullen appearance he had taken on after he went through the gate the first time. She wished more than anything that he would be the same Ed again. But Edward grew older and with a life filled with misfortune and pain it was no wonder he looked like this when he was almost grown up.

It was then that Al came walking to them, he looked like he was about done with being out in the rain. He was just as soaked as the two older teenagers and his hair laid flat on his head. His smile was wide and he had something in his arms. He looked beyond happy about the object in his arms.

"Brother..." he said and Winry recognized that tone. She knew already what it was that he has found.

Edward slowly turned his head away from his distant gaze and when his eyes met Alphonse's they gave him a disapprovingly and tired stare. He sighed deeply.

"Al... how many times do I have to say this?" he grumbled.

"But Brother, you always said I couldn't have one because we didn't have a real home to keep it in, but now we have a good home and Nadine can help take care of it." the young Elric pushed. Winry was involved in the mess so suddenly she never got a chance to object. She wasn't sure if she found that amusing or the exact opposite. Ed didn't look very convinced, but then Al used his last secret attack, the one with the puppy eyes and the guilt trips. "Can I keep it? Please? It gets so lonely when you're not around."

Ed quickly looked at Winry for help, but, already being enough involved in it, she refused to do more. _Sorry Ed..._ He looked back at Al, then grabbed the small fluffy kitten and held it up in front of him, examinating it. Small, white and fluffy, even Ed wouldn't be able to resist.

"Fine."

Alphonse literally jumped with joy at that and immediately jumped at his brother, throwing his arms around his neck. He buried his face in Ed's brown and very wet waistcoat, while Ed stood bewildered with a small white kitten in one of his hands.

"Err... yeah enough with the hugging alright!" Ed exclaimed with a strained voice. He patted Al on his shoulder lightly. But Al didn't let go, just tightened his hold on his brother and sniffled.

"Can we really keep it Brother?" Al whispered, tears faintly straining his voice. Realization dawned subtly on Ed it seemed and he smiled and ruffled Al's short wet hair. "Yea sure of course we can keep it." he said with a gentle voice. He looked up and smiled and apologetic smile at Winry, the message of "Sorry, but this means more to him than you know." shone clearly in his eyes, but Winry just smiled reassuringly back at him. She knew why Al suddenly got so emotional over such a seemingly trivial thing. In all their years of searching they had gone with no home of their own to return to. It was fine with them, but it still hurt. Winry knew Al well enough to know that he still from time to time brought a small cold kitten to Ed, asking if they could keep it, and in the end, always knowing the answer anyway. Ed had a fair enough reason though, it **would** be hard to keep a cat with no home for it to live in, but Al sought that feeling of homely reassurance anyway. After they had crossed the gate they had moved in an apartment together and so when he came with the small cat in his arms, asking if they could keep it, there was a hidden question behind the otherwise familiar act. He was asking his brother of this really was their home and if they would stay here. Was his brother finally content? And as Ed took the kitten in his hands sighed and agreed he, in return, answered Al's question. _Yeah, we're home now, this is home._ And the cat was the promise, that Ed wouldn't change his mind. It was only to be expected that this was exactly what Al wanted to hear. The house they would return to when they all got too cold from the rain would be called home, it would be called Edward and Alphonse's house, Nadine's house, too, **their** house. Their home. And plus he finally got his kitten. Winry understood it all and just watched as the two brothers exchanged their crypted conversation. They both looked like they could be standing there for a couple of hours more, but in the comfortable silence a rough cough split the silence, painfully and abruptly and the other two flinched from the sudden loud sound and looked at Ed, who had his hand behind his head and grinning.

"Hah sorry for startling you guys, guess the weather's getting to me." he said and chuckled.

"Maybe we should go back inside again then? We've been out here for quite some time already and I have the feeling Al's had his fill with being in the rain." Winry proposed and clutched the coat tighter to her body. She wanted to indulge in the feeling of Ed's coat and his scent lingering in the rough fabric. Al looked at Winry and nodded with a smile.

"Take the cat Al." Ed said and held the small fluff ball to his brother, still holding it in his one hand; it has begun to squirm in his grip.

"Oh right." the younger Elric said and carefully took the kitten from his brother. "You shouldn't hold it like that, you know, hold it like this." he said and turned the kitten in hand and gingerly held it in his hands like it was a newborn baby. He looked back up at Ed with a _'See _**_this_**_ is how you do it'_ look. Ed just sighed.

"Yeah sure whatever." he said and turned to the door, obviously not intending to stay outside a minute longer. The other two followed behind him, also having had their fill with the rain.

Once inside, Ed stomped up the stairs, growling comlpaints that he really should have come with earlier. Soon after he descended with an armful of towels, blankets and some clothing. He threw a towel at both of them and dumped the blankets onto Winry and the clothes onto Al.

"Go upstairs and change your clothes." he demanded and draped one of the towels over his head.

"That's not necessary Brother, it'll dry up in no time anyway and also, the kitten-" Al said, but was quickly silenced by his brother's persistent voice.

"Go change your clothes!" he exclaimed rather loudly and shoved at the back of Al's head playfully, wearing his perfect stubborn scowl. But if you didn't know Alphonse then you would never assume him to be able to muster a stubborn face to that caliber, but knowing him you knew the he sure could.

"Well I won't!" Al exclaimed not as loud as his brother. Winry sighed inwardly, Ed always seemed oblivious to this, but at times Al enjoyed pushing Ed's buttons and excite him by just acting as stubbornly as him, the procedure hardly ever failed too, though much of the act was quickly ruined this time by Al's perky grin. So this time it seemed Al was just pushing the right buttons the wrong way, but Winry was fine with that, she wasn't really up to a fight between two Elrics only the second day of her life at their house.

Ed sighed and grinned as he looked back at Al. "Okay how about if you go upstairs and change your clothes, I'll go make us some hot chocolate, how's that sound?"

Al's grin widened greatly in just a matter of moments and he jumped from his seat exclaiming a small 'Yay!' and soon after he had raced up the stairs in a blur of chestnut hair and white furry kittens, leaving Winry to realize that this might be what Al had aimed for the whole time.

Ed looked at the staircase for a while and then slowly he turned his head to look at Winry almost as if he were in a daze and spoke slowly and calmly, "My brother likes hot chocolate a lot."

"Sure looks like it." Winry replied and suppressed a laugh at the older Elric's reaction to his brother's actions.

"You should go and change too, though, you'll get a cold if you stay in those soaked clothes." Ed said and went into the kitchen while pulling out his hair tie from under the towel and proceeded to dry his hair with the towel. Winry followed his advice after watching him begin to rummage through the cupboards. Upstairs Al seemed to occupy the bathroom and Winry continued to her own room. She liked the thought of having her own room in Edward and Alphonse's house, plus it really felt like home. There was just something about it that made her want to spend all her time just sniffing in the scent of the apartment, it felt like home a whole different way than back in Risembool, here it felt like you never knew what might happen, but you still knew you had a place where you belonged. Winry really liked that feeling, she had to admit. She could feel she was going to lead a life where she would look forward to waking every single day, simply because she would wake up to her two best friends. She might be far away from the homey comfort and security in Risembool with Granny Pinako, but with the Elrics she knew she was just as safe – if not more - and welcome. Things were truly beginning to brighten up for her.

She began peeling the wet clothes off and frowned when she found that she had no clean sets of clothes left, she only had two and she used to mix them so she could have more combinations and then wash them frequently, the family she had lived with barely had enough money to live off after all, there was no way they could go around buying a lot of clothes for her just because she didn't feel like she had enough to choose from. She decided for the clothes she had worn the day before, they were fairly clean, she'd have to remind herself to clean them when she got the time.

Outside she could hear Al call to his brother from the stairs, asking if they had more milk left or if he had drank the last of it, receiving a heated retort from his brother in return. Winry quickly buttoned her shirt and dried her hair one last time with the towel before walking out through the door. Down in the living room Alphonse was sitting in the couch watching the small white kitten drink contently from a saucer filled with milk. She pushed the bundle of blankets aside and sat down next to Al, though with some space between them, as to let him have some personal space if he wasn't completely comfortable with it, it felt easier being close to Ed somehow, she guessed it might be because she still hadn't gotten used to being close to AL in his human form. Al looked behind his back into the kitchen and grinned before looking back and turning his attention towards Winry.

"I wouldn't exaggerate if I said that my brother makes the best hot chocolate in the world." he said with a big smile and Winry felt her heart warm at the earnest praise he gave his brother. He continued. "He is a complete disaster in a kitchen and it always ends up with him blowing something up, but when it comes to hot chocolate, and coffee for that matter, but I don't like that stuff anyway, I have met none who can make it taste that good. I don't know how he does it, I've tried countless times already to no avail, maybe it's because he puts less milk in it or something. But I won't try and surpass him, this way at least he's got **something** he can do in a kitchen other than set things on fire." Al finished and laughed. Winry did find herself a bit surprised at what she had just been told. She'd known for a long time that Ed and kitchens didn't go well together and so she had never expected him to suddenly find something he actually knew how to do in a kitchen, even if it _was _just a thing as simple as making hot chocolate. It might be something he'd only tried when he came back from the other side of the gate the second time, that would explain why he'd never even considered making some for her, she was pretty sure that Al would praise Ed to the skies if there was anything he knew how to make in a kitchen. "I can't wait to try it then." she said finally and smiled back at Al, whose eyes brightened at that.

"I promise you, you won't be disappointed." he said happily, watching as his older brother began to pour the steaming brown liquid into three mugs.

"It's already beginning to get darker, huh?" came his voice from behind them as he placed the three mugs on a line on the coffee table in front of them and then squeezed himself in between Al and Winry. The couch fit perfectly for three people relaxing on it. Ed reached over Winry and grabbed one of the blankets then draped it over Al's shoulders and gave it a small pat before leaning back in the couch. "I brought those blankets for you guys to get warm, not just to be shoved to the end of the couch, you know." he said and took another blanket and shook it in front of Winry. She took the hint and draped it around her body. Her gaze wandered to the three steaming mugs on the coffee table and she reached forward and gingerly took the one closest to her and held it to her mouth. She sniffed at it a few time, taking in the smell. It smelled of normal hot chocolate. She looked to her right and saw Al looking at her expectantly his eyes gleaming in eagerness. She laughed inwardly and took a small sip of the brown liquid, just a taste.

She paused all movement as she savored the taste for a moment, and found herself speechless. Suddenly she could understand why Al had been so quick to obey Ed. The word she was contemplating on using was not even close to doing justice to the taste of the small piece of heaven swirling around in her mouth and flowing thickly and softly down her throat leaving a tingling feeling of craving remaining and begging her to take another sip, which she didn't hesitate to do. Yet she knew no other words than the simple and too common sentence of "It's delicious!" She did try to put as much feeling into the words as possible, as to say that it was actually a lot more than just delicious.

Al beamed, holding a mug of his own, and Ed just smiled in appreciation. She eagerly took another sip.

"Really?" Ed asked jokingly and Winry took yet another sip before nodding with a wide smile. She wasn't sure if she had ever tasted something this delicious. Who would have known that the most delectable thing she would ever get to taste would be hot chocolate made by **Edward**, of all people.

Al chuckled and took a sip himself. "Told you so." he said and beamed again. He snuggled close to his brother and sighed. After a while he looked down at his lap to see the small kitten he had found earlier carefully walking up and lying down in Al's lap. It's chin was still damp from the milk and it purred contently.

"Well have to find a name for it." Ed said with a soft voice and Winry smiled at the comforting feeling his words brought with them as they themselves showed that he was at peace himself , a rare thing Winry knew she would always treasure.

"Yeah, but not now. Tomorrow maybe." Al said and buried his face in Ed's white shirt. Ed sighed a humored sigh and reached forward, quickly receiving a displeased groan from Alphonse.

"Sorry, but I'd like to have some hot chocolate myself, thank you." Edward said and closed it automail hand around the mug, giving out a small clinking sound as the metal hit the ceramic, and sat back down. Al had immediately returned to his original position when Ed had made himself comfortable again. Ed took a sip absentmindedly and stopped as he raised his eyebrows in silent self-praise.

They sat there for a while just enjoying each other's warmth, the comfortable atmosphere and the heavenly delectable hot chocolate. Winry didn't know, but she assumed that it was beginning to get near dinnertime.

After a while Ed stirred beside her. She had begun to suspect him of being asleep. He had probably just been resting. He pointed at a book on the coffee table and gently nudged Winry with his metallic elbow. "Nadine, can you get me that book over there?" he asked and Winry supposed that his reluctance in moving might be because that his younger brother looked like he had fallen asleep beside his big brother. Winry didn't reply, just reached forward and grabbed the book and handed it to him. A novel it seemed. So he did read other things than scientific literature. Though the genre did seem to be science fiction. He gave her a nod and a small smile as thanks and opened the book from where a bookmark has been placed between the pages. He didn't get to read for a very long time before Al suddenly moved and reached his arm forward toward the coffee table to grab a small, black, rectangular case and opened it once it was being held in both of his hands in front of him. He pulled out a pair of rectangular, bronze colored, half-rimmed glasses and placed them lazily on his brothers nose. "Reading glasses." he announced to no one in particular.

Winry ogled at the golden haired youth in surprise as he furrowed his eyebrows in exasperation. Glasses? She'd never get used to seeing Ed with glasses, she knew that. They did look good on him, but he began to look like some kind of scholar. Poor Ed, he'd always been strongly opposed by the thought of wearing glasses, but in the end he ended up wearing them anyway.

"I don't need those shitty glasses Al." he grumbled and glared at the top of Al's head.

"Maybe not, but if you don't wear them when you read you'll end up having to use them all the time. We wouldn't want that would we?" Al replied and snuggled closer to his brother. Ed just sighed and straightened his glassed on the bridge of his nose.

And they all went silent again, Al snuggling affectionately against his brother, obviously asleep this time, a soft snore emerging from his half parted lips with a white kitten purring in his lap, Ed reading a book placed in one hand, a cup of lukewarm hot chocolate in another and a pair of bronze colored reading glasses on his nose and last Winry who was just enjoying their company and everything about them, and her own lukewarm hot chocolate. A perfect evening for the nostalgic golden trio of Risembool.

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_A/N: So there we have the 9th chapter, hope you liked it ^^ I can't tell you when the next chapter will be out, since I haven't started on it yet._

_Thank you for reading._

_Until next time._

_-Shirou Hana

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